WHATS GREAT ABOUT
T EXAS?
AMANDA LANSER
Copyright 2015
by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
Content Consultant: Deborah Liles, PhD,
History Lecturer and Undergraduate Advisor,
University of North Texas
All rights reserved. International copyright
secured. No part of this book may be
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For reading levels and more information, look
up this title at www.lernerbooks.com.
Main body text set in ITC Franklin Gothic Std
Book Condensed 12/15.
Typeface provided by Adobe Systems.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication
Data
Lanser, Amanda.
Whats great about Texas? / by Amanda
Lanser.
pages cm. (Our great states)
Includes index.
ISBN 9781467733489 (lib. bdg. :
alk. paper)
ISBN 9781467747196 (eBook)
1. TexasJuvenile literature. I. Title.
F386.3.L36 2015
976.4dc23 2013048273
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 PC 7/15/14
CONTENTS
TEXAS FACTS
TEXAS Welcomes You!
Expect a Texas- sized welcome in the Lone Star State. Big Tex says
hello with a wave and a friendly greeting. The giant statue of a cowboy
welcomes visitors to the State Fair of Texas.
Big Tex is only one thing that makes Texas unique. Watch cowboys
wrangle cattle at a rodeo. Learn about the US space program at Space
Center Houston. Taste the tangy flavors of Texas barbecue. Texas has a
lot to do and see. Pull on your boots and cowboy hat! Its time to learn
about Texass top ten places to visit.
Explore Texass
zaniest attractions and all
the places in between.
Just turn the page to
find out all about the
LONE STAR STATE.
COWBOY CULTURE
Cowboys play an important part in Texass culture.
Cattle and ranching helped build the state. Texans
embrace their history as ranchers and cowboys.
Watch contestants race against the clock at the
Mesquite Rodeo. Riders compete in timed events.
Bareback riding and bull riding are two of these.
In bull- riding, riders try to stay on their animals for
at least eight seconds. Steer wrestling and barrel
racing are other popular timed events. Watch
competitors tie up steers or guide their horses
around obstacles.
In the mid- 1800s, cowboys drove cattle through
North Texas. One stop was the town of Fort Worth.
You can still watch cowboys and cowgirls drive
longhorn cattle at the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Learn more about ranch life at the Texas Cowboy
Hall of Fame. Or try your luck finding your way out
of the Cowtown Cattlepen Maze.
Rodeo contestants show
off their horsemanship
and ranching expertise.
TEXAS LONGHORNS
Texas longhorn cattle are as
important to the Lone Star State
as cowboys are. Longhorns are
Texass official large mammal. A
longhorns horns start showing a
month after the calf is born. The
horns keep growing throughout
the cattles lives.
SPACE CENTER HOUSTON
Did you know NASAs Mission Control Center is in Texas?
Peek inside at Space Center Houston. Visit the historic
mission control. It was used from the 1960s to the mid-
1990s. It is where NASA monitored the Apollo mission.
Apollo was the first manned spacecraft to land on the
moon. The ship and its crew did so on July 20, 1969.
You can step inside the Mission Control Center NASA
uses today. It is where NASA monitors astronauts on the
International Space Station. Mission control is on the job
twenty- four hours a day, seven days a week. Imagine what
it would be like to talk with astronauts miles (402
kilometers) above Earth. Dont miss the Feel of Space
presentation. You will never leave the ground. But the
presentations special effects help you feel weightless as
you would feel in space.
Make your trip to Space Center Houston extra special. Have
lunch with an astronaut! Munch on space- inspired food
and chat with an astronaut who has been to space. You will
even get a photo of the astronaut as a special gift.
At Space Center Houston, you can see
a model of a Space Shuttle (left) or an
Apollo mission module (below).
WILD PLACES AND SPACES
Texas is a great place for outdoor fun. Big Bend
National Park has something for everyone. While
you hike, look for cacti, yuccas, and other desert
plants. Or kayak down the Rio Grande. Watch for
lots of wildlife. Mountain lions, black bears, and
jackrabbits all live in the park.
Escape to the high ground at Davis Mountains
State Park. The Davis Mountains are named for
Jefferson Davis, the US Civil War Confederate
president. Volcanoes formed these mountains
about sixty- five million years ago. Camp and hike
in the Davis Mountains. Have a picnic or take a
scenic drive. You can also mountain bike or take
a horseback ride.
If you want some fun in the sun, visit South Padre
Island. Try your hand at windsurfing, parasailing,
or Jet Skiing. From west to east, Texas has outdoor
fun for everyone!
FORT DAVIS
Visit Fort Davis in the Davis
Mountains. Soldiers at
the fort defended settlers
from attacks by American
Indians. The fort has been
turned into a museum. Peek
inside twenty buildings
restored to the way they
were in the 1880s. During
the summer, actors role-
play life on the fort. Be sure
to listen for bugle calls!