HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS / NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS
Albuquerque Aquarium
2601 Central Avenue NW
Albuquerque 505-768-2000
http://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/biopark/aquarium
Exhibits showcase Gulf of Mexico saltwater species from a variety of habitats including estuarine, surf zone, shallow waters, coral reefs, open ocean, and deep ocean. A 285,000-gallon ocean tank contains brown, sandtiger, blacktip and nurse sharks swimming alongside brilliantly colored reef fish, eels, sea turtles, and open-ocean species.
Albuquerque Biological Park & Rio Grande Zoo
903 Tenth Street SW
Albuquerque 505-768-2000
http://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/biopark
http://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/biopark/zoo
The unique environmental museum of Albuquerque Biological Park encompasses the Albuquerque Aquarium, the Rio Grande Botanic Garden, and Tingley Beach Aquatic Park as well as the 64-acre Rio Grande Zoo. The zoo offers close encounters with more than 250 species of exotic and native animals.
American International Rattlesnake Museum
202 San Felipe NW
Albuquerque 505-242-6569
www.rattlesnakes.com
Imagine a museum that celebrates the rattlesnake, an uncomfortably common sight in the Southwest. Exhibits include a number of snakes that rattle from behind glass as you walk by — no doubt, just offering a friendly greeting. Memorabilia and the opportunity to purchase unique treasures related to these fascinating reptiles add to the attraction.
Explora!
1701 Mountain Road NW
Albuquerque 505-224-8300
www.explora.us/en
This science and children’s museum showcases more than 250 interactive science, technology, and art exhibits. Features include a laminar flow fountain, an experiment bar, an arts and crafts area, a high-wire bike, and a robotics lab.
Lodestar Astronomy Center
1801 Mountain Road NW
Albuquerque 505-841-2800
www.nmnaturalhistory.org
Located in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, this center offers special events, guest speakers, and numerous programs including astronomy camps.
Maxwell Museum of Anthropology
500 University Boulevard NE
Albuquerque 505-277-4405
https://maxwellmuseum.unm.edu
Serving as an important anthropological research center, the museum houses temporary and permanent exhibits that include Ancestors and People of the Southwest, presenting the development of human beings over the last 4 million years.
Meteorite Museum & Collection
University of New Mexico
Institute of Meteoritic
Albuquerque 505-277-1644
http://meteorite.unm.edu/meteorites/meteorite-museum
As part of the university’s Earth and Planetary Sciences Department, the museum houses one of the world’s largest stone meteorites, the one-ton Norton County. This venue is ideal for those who find the skies to be a fascinating frontier and encourages touching alien objects that have floated through the universe for millions of years.
Museum of Southwestern Biology
University of New Mexico
Department of Biology
Albuquerque 505-277-1360
www.msb.unm.edu
Serving as a teaching and research facility, the museum houses collections of vertebrates, arthropods, and plants from the American Southwest, Central and South America, and from throughout the world.
The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
601 Eubank Boulevard SE
Albuquerque 505-245-2137
www.nuclearmuseum.org
Established in 1969, this venue is 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.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science
1801 Mountain Road NW
Albuquerque 505-841-2800
www.nmnaturalhistory.org
Home to the Lodestar Astronomy Center, this innovative and “hands-on” educational museum features an active volcano, an ice-age cave, dinosaurs, a time machine, and the larger-than-life Dynamax Theater. Exhibit halls take visitors on a journey through time with Timetracks, snapshots of New Mexico from the formation of the universe to the present day.
Rio Grande Botanic Garden
2601 Central Avenue NW
Albuquerque 505-768-2000
http://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/biopark/garden
Bordered on the west by the famed Rio Grande and the largest cottonwood gallery forest in the world, this lush and peaceful garden encompasses 20 developed acres. Preservations include a 10,000-square-foot glass conservatory housing native and exotic plants from desert and Mediterranean climate zones and a seasonal butterfly conservatory.
