New Mexico's National History, Science & Space Museums

This impressive collection of attractions includes the Albuquerque Aquarium, the Rio Grande Botanic Garden, the Rio Grande Zoo and the Tingley Aquatic Park. There are plenty of critters, concerts, demonstrations, exhibits, and activities to fill a day or two, and kids will love getting up-close and personal with weird underwater denizens.

The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum is the world's premiere facility dedicated to the art, culture, science, history, sport and spectacle of ballooning. It features one of the finest collections of ballooning equipment and memorabilia in the world. It officially opened its doors to the public on October 1, 2005.

Albuquerque's Explora creates opportunities for inspirational discovery and the joy of lifelong learning through interactive experiences in science, technology and art.

The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, holds more than 10 million items in its archaeological, ethnological, archival, photographic, and skeletal collections. These come from all parts of the world, but all have a Southwestern connection. The Maxwell is the only museum in the Southwest whose mission encompasses the entire history of mankind and culture around the world.

The Natural Science Laboratories at Tucumcari's Community College display skeletons and bronze representations of dinosaurs, fossils, and replicas of prehistoric creatures.

A trip through this museum will take you through 12 billion years of natural history, from the formation of the universe to the present day. Begin by looking at a display of stones and gems, then stroll through the "Age of Giants" display, where you'll find dinosaur skeletons cast from the real bones. You can ride the Evolator, a simulated time-travel experience that moves and rumbles, taking you 1 1/4 miles up and through 38 million years of history. Soon, you'll find yourself in the age of the mammoths and moving through the Ice Age. Other stops along the way include the Naturalist Center, where kids can peek through microscopes and make their own bear or raccoon footprints in sand, and FossilWorks, where paleontologists work behind glass, excavating bones of a seismosaurus. Be sure to check out the newest addition to the museum, the LodeStar Astronomy Center, a sophisticated planetarium with the Virtual Voyages Simulation theater. Those exhibits, as well as the DynaTheater, which surrounds you with images and sound, cost an additional fee. A gift shop on the ground floor sells imaginative nature games and other curios. This museum has good access for people with disabilities, including scripts for people with impaired hearing and exhibit text written in Braille.

The Museum of Space History is a complex consisting of the space museum, Planetarium, IMAX dome theater, Hubbard Space Science Education Facility and the International Space Hall of Fame. You can learn about life in space, satellites, rockets and more. Older kids will find it as fascinating as adults.

Ghost Ranch Piedra Lumbre Education and Visitor Center houses exhibits on the geology, paleontology and archaeology of the region, as well as exhibits on northern New Mexico culture, history and tradition.

The Bradbury Science Museum is located at 15th and Central in downtown Los Alamos, the home of Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Museum serves as a bridge between the Laboratory and the community, helping to improve science education and science literacy. The Museum also serves as a window to the Laboratory, interpreting the Laboratory's history and current research.

The National Atomic Museum is the nation's only Congressionally chartered museum of nuclear science and history. The museum was established in 1969 as an intriguing place to learn the story of the Atomic Age, from early research of nuclear development through today's peaceful uses of nuclear technology. Visitors can explore how nuclear science continues to influence our world. The museum strives to present through permanent and changing exhibits and displays the diverse applications of nuclear energy and its pioneers.