As the Bullock Texas State History Museum’s temporary exhibition, La Belle: The Ship that Changed History, comes to a close in May, a new collaboration with the Bank of America Museums on Us® program will provide Bank of America and Merrill Lynch cardholders with free admission the first full weekend of every month, including the opportunity to see the La Belle exhibit for free.

One of the most significant exhibitions on early Texas history opened last fall at the Bullock Museum, and visitors have been able to view the live-action rebuild by conservators of the French ship that crashed on the Texas Coast in 1686 and sank in Matagorda Bay. The exhibit has evolved as experts reassemble this piece of Texas history, timber by timber. The Bullock Museum has produced this exhibition to be able to bring together, for the first time, the 17th-century ship timbers, rare artifacts, video footage, and a 4D film that tells this important Texas narrative about early European colonization efforts in North America.

This new partnership comes at a perfect time for Austinites to see the completion of La Belle’s hull rebuild for free (April 4-5; May 2-3) before it closes on May 17 – but also gives the community free access to the city’s cultural treasures shown at the Bullock Museum throughout the year.