Totally Texas -- Half-price attractions at the DMA

Dallas Museum of Art

1717 N. Harwood, Dallas

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“It’s a movie,“ the boys said.

My daughter’s five-year-old twins sat in front of the Dallas Museum of Art monumental painting, “The Icebergs,” by Frederic Edwin Church, waiting for the show to start. My daughter and I sat there, breathing in the coolness. Outside, the temperature hovered around a hundred degrees. Inside, the air-conditioned coolness seemed to slide deliciously downward as we absorbed the chill of this nineteenth century landscape painting.

We were at the DMA on a “cool Thursday” -- the day of the week in the summer when the museum offers half-price admission. That’s $5 for general admission and $8 for special exhibitions such as the current Art of the American Indians, from a collection at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. The exhibit continues at DMA through September 4.

Of course we went to the Indian exhibit. The boys liked the scary masks best, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. The exhibit will also be the focus of a celebration of Native American culture this coming weekend. From 6 p.m. until midnight this Friday, July 15, the museum will host the Apache performance group Yellow Bird with tours and artist demonstrations. Festivities continue Saturday, July 16, during the museum’s regular weekend hours, 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

We ended with a trip through the outdoor sculpture garden. My daughter and I walked, the boys ran. Okay, they’re little kids -- an hour or so of walking decorously through art galleries is about all they can take. We had entered the museum through the parking garage, so I didn’t realize the sculpture garden opens directly onto the street. (Keep this in mind with children who might dash outside in their excitement.) Before we left, we visited one of my favorite exhibits, the glass mosaic, “Genesis: The Gift of Life,” by Miguel Covarrubias. A portion based on the Indian concept of “earth” illustrates this post.

If you need more incentive to visit the DMA, shop the summer sale through September 4 at the museum gift shop or online at www.shopdma.org/ Just don’t tell my daughter -- she never met a gift shop she didn’t like.

For more about the DMA’s programs, visit www.DallasMuseumofArt.org/

(Email from DMA after publishing this post told me that from July 14 through 30, the museum will be open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 9 p.m.)

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I’d been away from Half-Price Books too long. When I stopped by recently, its free summer movies were already in session. This Saturday, July 16, the show continues at the 5803 E. Northwest Highway location in Dallas with Sherlock Holmes (PG-13). The remaining schedule is July 30 -- Star Trek (2009), (PG-13); August 13 -- The Incredibles (PG); August 27 -- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (PG). Showings at 8:45 p.m. on the west end of the parking lot. Bring your own chair. Shows cancelled in case of bad weather.

(Next Monday -- Revel in the shade and water of the Japanese Garden at Austin’s Zilker Park )