University of Texas at San Antonio. Institute of Texan Cultures. Educational Programs Department

The Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) Educational Programs Department, established as the Educational Services Department circa 1975, was responsible for creating and administering programs for K-12 visitors to the Institute of Texan Cultures museum, as well as for educational outreach programs for students and faculty. The department oversaw school group tours, teacher inservice workshops on Texas history and folk culture, and outreach initiatives. According to a 1978 budget planning document, the department's purpose was to fulfill the Institute of Texan Cultures' state mandate to provide educational program and outreach materials for public schools and adults on the folk culture and history of Texas.

The Institute of Texan Cultures was established by the Fifty-ninth Texas Legislature on May 27, 1965. The agency was directed to develop and implement an appropriate plan for the state's participation in HemisFair '68 to plan exhibits related to the history of Texas, its development, resources, and contributions; and to design and erect a building suited to housing these exhibits, giving due consideration to its utility for state purposes after the fair. The ITC, a permanent state agency located on HemisFair grounds in San Antonio, was designed to study the ethnic groups that settled in Texas. While not a museum, the ITC displayed relics, artifacts, and personal memorabilia, but only those that had a direct connection with telling the story of the people in each ethnic group. The exhibits made use of sound, color, movement, and atmospheric design. R. Henderson Shuffler guided the research projects and formed the original staff.

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