This is one of nine articles written about “things to do in Huntsville” from the perspective of students at Sam Houston State University. In addition to this article, you can see others in this series, which cover restaurants in Huntsville here and here, Bearkat Football, the Wynne Home, the Texas Prison Museum, Eastham-Thomason Park, the City’s Christmas Fair, and the Sam Houston Memorial Museum.
Many SHSU students spend four years in Huntsville without actually exploring Huntsville. As it turns out, though, Huntsville has a lot to do and see, whether you are a weekend visitor or an SHSU student who calls Huntsville home. As LEAP Ambassadors, we are pretty familiar with the community, but we wanted to be more systematic in our exploration. So we set out to do monthly explorations of Huntsville.
Where would we begin? The Statue and Visitor Center, of course!
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Many people may know there is a large statue on I=45, but some do not know the City’s visitor center is almost literally at the foot of that statue. With a quick exit from the highway, passersby can learn a bit about the community and its notable sites. On hand is a group of dedicated City staff, who will point visitors to Huntsville attractions, highlight aspects of the community’s rich culture and history, direct tourists to myriad outdoor activities, or recommend some of the city’s culinary options.
There are also a variety of local goods and products, perfect for shopping for a visitor to town or a long-time resident.
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But while you are there, David Adickes’ “A Tribute to Courage,” a 67-foot sculpture of Sam Houston, is a must-see! Not only is the statue a marvel to see at the ground level…
![](https://leapatshsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/sh_03_statue_web.jpg?w=400)
…but it’s also interesting to see some familiar names among the bricks that were purchased to support the project. We were able to see local names familiar to us–including a LEAP Ambassadors’ brick!
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More importantly, we were able to see bricks purchased by Governor George W. Bush, President George H.W. Bush, President Lech Walesa, of Poland, and a relative of Sam Houston!
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According to the good folks at the Visitor Center, there’s even a marriage proposal among the bricks.
And while there, we were literally able to get in to Sam Houston’s head…
![](https://leapatshsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/sh_04_sh_head_cropped_web.jpg?w=332)
…and see Huntsville in a whole new light. Tune in next month, to see where we go in our year-long exploration of Huntsville.