Utrgv Chaps

Interested in RGV Cultural Heritage? Check out this course for FALL 2026 - we are in the 2nd year of Public Heritage & Community Engagement as a new major here at UTRGV. Would love to see you in our classrooms.

Please join us as we give a free presentation on June 20th at the Palmview Library in McAllen! Our exhibit will be standing there between June 15-30.

Had a terrific exhibit opening event last night in Laredo with the Webb County Heritage Foundation! First hour spent in the gallery touring the exhibit with visitors and then the next hour all visitors were able to see our documentary film "Ancient Landscapes of South Texas: Hiding in Plain Sight!" Great evening overall! Thanks to our friends at the WCHF!!!!!

Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow in Laredo!!!

From mammoths and giant oysters to ancient shorelines and volcanic ash, 43 million years of South Texas history are hiding in plain sight. 🦣

Join the Webb County Heritage Foundation for the opening of Ancient Landscapes of South Texas: Hiding in Plain Sight, a bilingual exhibition in English and Spanish developed by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley's Community Historical Archaeology Project (CHAPS). The exhibition explores the geological history of the Rio Grande Valley through artifacts, fossils, and stories from across the region.

The opening reception will take place on Friday, June 5, from 6–9 p.m. at the Villa Antigua Border Heritage Museum. At 7 p.m., members of the UTRGV CHAPS program will present a special program and documentary screening at the American Legion Post 59 - Laredo, TX.

Free and open to the public.

Thank you to the wonderful people at the Webb County Heritage Foundation! We look forward to seeing you all there!

From mammoths and giant oysters to ancient shorelines and volcanic ash, 43 million years of South Texas history are hiding in plain sight. 🦣

Join the Webb County Heritage Foundation for the opening of Ancient Landscapes of South Texas: Hiding in Plain Sight, a bilingual exhibition in English and Spanish developed by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley's Community Historical Archaeology Project (CHAPS). The exhibition explores the geological history of the Rio Grande Valley through artifacts, fossils, and stories from across the region.

The opening reception will take place on Friday, June 5, from 6–9 p.m. at the Villa Antigua Border Heritage Museum. At 7 p.m., members of the UTRGV CHAPS program will present a special program and documentary screening at the American Legion Post 59 - Laredo, TX.

Free and open to the public.

Hope to see you there on Thursday!!

This Thursday, May 28, meet the anthropologists and archaeologists, biologists, historians, geologists, and geoarchaeologists who make the Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) Program at UTRGV, and who also developed, produced and directed the award winning documentary "Ancient Landscapes of South Texas: Hiding in Plain Sight."🎥🌴

Enjoy delicious quesadillas by .tx, watch the film, and gather your curiosities for a Q&A with the CHAPS team. ✨🤠

✨Doors open at 6:30pm
✨Film begins at 7:00pm

Join us on Thursday evening at Quinta Mazatlan for a screening of our geoheritage documentary film. See you there!!!

Did you know, 27 million years ago a volcanic eruption covered what is today Rio Grande City in more than 60 feet of ash? 🌋Minerals in this volcanic ash created a petrified palm forest in Starr County, 🌴and deposits of uranium in South Texas?

The Rio Grande Valley is a special place, full of discovery. Join the filmmakers behind the award winning documentary "Ancient Landscapes of South Texas: Hiding in Plain Sight" for a screening and Q&A, exploring 50-million years of geologic history of the RGV, Thursday, May 28.

✨Doors open at 6:30pm
✨Film screens at 7:00pm
🌮 Come by early to beat the line for freshly made quesadillas by the one and only .tx

This program is FREE with General Admission. Culinary concept is at separate charge.

The Civil War effectively ended on April 9, 1865, when Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Virginia. However, the final land battle occurred later in Texas.

On May 12–13, 1865, Union forces under Col. Theodore H. Barrett, including the 62nd U.S. Colored Troops, attacked Confederate positions near Brownsville at Palmito Ranch.

The Union troops, outnumbered and exhausted, were defeated by Confederate forces led by Col. John “Rip” Ford, who used cavalry and artillery to rout the attackers. The Union suffered casualties and prisoners, including Black soldiers who were paroled and released with their white comrades.

Although Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had been issued in 1863, emancipation was not enforced in Texas until June 19, 1865, now celebrated as Juneteenth.

The formal declaration ending the Civil War came on August 20, 1866, and Texas was readmitted to the Union on March 30, 1870.

Today, visitors can learn about the battle at historical markers and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service viewing platform with interpretive signage at the intersection of Palmito Hill Road and Boca Chica Highway (HWY 4). However, there are currently no public services or facilities at the site.

Learn more: www.visitpalmitoranchbattlefield.com

We're excited to welcome back Nick Morales, collector of worldwide minerals and local ancient stone tools, for a talk on the Ancient History of South Texas!🙌🧐

With years of research in geology and archaeology along with faculty at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Morales continues with projects focused on identifying minerals from Mexico, lithic tools of the area, employing XRD and pXRF technology, and documenting, photographing, authoring, and co-authoring articles on local geology and lithic artifacts. ✨

Join Morales at 6:00pm tomorrow evening to learn more and see part of his collection first hand! This program is FREE with general admission.