Summer may be synonymous with a break from education, but that doesn’t mean you want your brain to rust. Plus, when the heat starts to boil your insides, what better way to escape it than to dash into the air-conditioned halls of a museum and admire art, learn about our ancestors or play with giant bubbles? While it’s fine to visit museums based on topics of your interest, we’ve dedicated this guide to learning about things you don’t know a whit about. Hate snakes? Visit the American International Rattlesnakes Museum and learn to love them—or at least respect them. Cringe at the thought of geometry? Go to ¡explora! and leave dreaming of parabolic curves. This guide is Albuquerque- and East Mountain-exclusive. Don’t forget that there are tons of cool museums all over our state. Visit newmexicoculture.org/museums.html for a list of some of them.
Summer Guide If You Think “Manet” Is A Misspelling Of “Monet”(Art)
The Palazzo Dario by Claude Monet
The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History 2000 Mountain NW • 243-7255 • (800) 659-8331 cabq.gov/museum • albuquerquemuseum.comThis is a big deal. Turner to Cézanne, an exhibit featuring works by some of history’s most renowned artists, is coming to town. The exhibit has never toured the U.S. until now, and it’s only making five stops nationwide. Albuquerque is its final host before heading home to National Museum Wales. The 53 masterpieces, by the likes of van Gogh, Matisse, Renoir, Monet and Manet, are from the Davies Collection. Our city doesn’t see exhibits like this often, so don’t miss out. The show runs from May 16 to Aug. 8. In addition to the museum’s general admission fees, tickets are $5. Plus, on Saturday, May 15, the museum’s throwing an opening night party from 5 to 8 p.m., with food, a cash bar and live gypsy jazz by Le Chat Lunatique. Tickets to the event are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. University of New Mexico Art Museum UNM Campus, Center for the Arts building • 277-4001 unmartmuseum.unm.edu Getting cultured doesn’t have to be expensive. UNM’s art museum has a relatively quick turnaround, bringing in several new high-quality exhibits a year. Until the end of May, catch Man Ray, African Art and the Modernist Lens . The museum also houses more than 30,000 objects in various collections, some of which can be browsed online. Tinkertown Museum 121 Sandia Crest, Sandia Park • 281-5233 tinkertown.comOne of our area’s most beloved attractions, visiting Tinkertown requires a trek up the mountains, but it’s well worth the trip. It’s a 22-room, meandering museum made with more than 50,000 glass bottles. Ross Ward was the man behind the innards, ones stuffed with memorabilia and carvings that used to be part of a traveling exhibit that toured carnivals and county fairs in the ’60s and ‘70s. Now they make up elaborate miniature towns brimming with Americana.
Summer Guide If You Think A Quasar Is A Russian Emperor(Science-Tastic)
¡explora!
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History
¡explora! 1701 Mountain NW • 224-8300 explora.usMake bubbles the size of beach balls; learn about refraction and color spectrums; play with light beams and systems of motion; ride in a giant, lobby-sized elevator outfitted with a couch. Science is fun: ¡explora! shows you exactly how fun it is. This interactive museum is great for children, but grownups love it, too. That’s why it regularly hosts Adult Nights, the next of which is scheduled for Friday, May 21, with the scintillating theme "Light and Shadow.” New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science 1801 Mountain NW • 841-2800 nmnaturalhistory.orgDinosaur bones. Need we say more? The Museum of Natural History and Science has everything a true science lover or science novice could need: dinosaur exhibits that range from the Triassic to the Cretaceous, a massive theater (now screening Wild Ocean and Mummies: Secrets of the Past ), and a planetarium with shows that take you all over the universe. The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History 601 Eubank SE • 245-2137 nuclearmuseum.orgThis place used to be known as the National Atomic Museum. It’s a Smithsonian affiliate and the country’s only congressionally chartered museum in its field. Through exhibits that teach about X-rays, uranium, the Cold War, radiation and much more, learn about the history and modern-day implications of nuclear science. University of New Mexico Geology Museum UNM Campus, Northrop Hall, Room 124 • 277-4204 epswww.unm.edu/museum.htmThe mineral, fossil and rock specimens displayed in this museum are just a sampling of the Earth and Planetary Sciences department’s massive geological collections. Exhibits feature items from the Jemez Caldera and the Harding pegmatite mine, as well as minerals that fluoresce (i.e., glow) when the lights turn off, a pair of dinosaur eggs and much more.
Summer Guide If You Think Vertebrates Are Part Of Your Spine(Nature)
American International Rattlesnake Museum
American International Rattlesnake Museum 202 San Felipe NW • 242-6569 rattlesnakes.comA lot of Albuquerqueans have never heard of the Rattlesnake Museum, which is a shame, because it has more species of live rattlesnakes than the Philadelphia, Bronx, Denver, San Francisco, San Diego and National zoos combined. Education is the highest order at this Old Town establishment, so go for a thrill, but leave with your myths dispelled. Turquoise Museum 2107 Central NW • 247-8650 turquoisemuseum.comDid you know that there’s an entire museum in Albuquerque dedicated to turquoise? Learn everything you ever wanted to know about this popular Southwestern gem—and we do mean everything. Plus, the museum’s entrance is a mock mine. Museum of Southwestern Biology UNM Campus, CERIA building • 277-1360www.msb.unm.eduThis one’s for the true biology devotee. The museum is really a research and teaching facility, but tours of its vertebrates, arthropods, plants and genomic materials collections can be viewed by appointment. Have a kid who loves bugs or wants to grow up to be a scientist? It’s the perfect place to take her. Casa Grande Trading Post, Cerrillos Turquoise Mining Museum and Petting Zoo 17 Waldo, Cerrillos • 438-3008 casagrandetradingpost.comIf you’re planning a drive along the Turquoise Trail, stop by this sweet 28-room adobe, which has a mining museum filled with maps, dioramas, rock collections and antiques. Before you leave, take a few minutes to pet the goats, llamas, turkeys, pigeons and “fancy chickens.”
Summer Guide If You Giggle When You Hear The Term Homo Sapiens (History)
Maxwell Museum of Anthropology UNM Campus, 500 Redondo West • 277-4405 maxwellmuseum.unm.eduOne of the best Anthropology museums in the country has a home on UNM campus. Start by following the four million-year journey of human origins, then learn specifically about Southwestern history. Also check out temporary exhibits like Slinging the Bull in Korea: An Adventure in Psychological Warfare and Weaving Generations Together: Evolving Creativity in the Maya of Chiapas Mexico . If it’s too hot to leave your house, the museum also offers several “virtual” exhibits on its website. Holocaust and Intolerance Museum of New Mexico 616 Central SW • 247-0606 nmholocaustmuseum.orgHonor those who suffered in the Holocaust by remembering them. The Holocaust and Intolerance Museum of New Mexico’s mission is to educate the public about the causes and effects of one of the most horrific genocides in human history. Through the end of May, two special exhibits will be up that highlight some of the heroes of the Holocaust, including Varian Fry, an American who helped save the lives of more than 2,000 Jews and anti-Nazis. Museum of Archaeology and Material Culture 22 Calvary, Cedar Crest • 281-2005This cozy museum, tucked off Hwy. 14 in Cedar Crest, is mostly devoted to Native American artifacts. Also check it out for displays on the Sandia Man cave and the old Turquoise Trail mining industry. Casa San Ysidro 973 Old Church, Corrales • 898-3915 cabq.gov/museum/history/casatour.htmlMore than 1,300 pieces are on display in this compound, in which the buildings themselves also serve as historic works. From religious objects to household furnishings, carpenters’ tools to gold filigree jewelry, the museum’s artifacts provide a full picture of Spanish Colonial New Mexican life. Stop by on Saturday, May 15, for Heritage Day, when there will be music, performances and artist demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to the event is free.
Summer Guide If You Think A Rotary Phone Is Something Donated To Charity(Technology)
J&R Vintage Auto Museum
Telephone Museum of New Mexico 110 Fourth Street NW • 842-2937Yep. We have a telephone museum. Housed in Albuquerque’s original telephone building, this unassuming space is packed with switchboards, telephones, photo galleries, audio exhibits and a large resource center. If you call ahead, you can also get guided tours. J&R Vintage Auto Museum 3650 N.M. Hwy. 528, Rio Rancho • 867-2881 jrvintageautos.comMore than 70 vintage automobiles! A giant gift shop with hundreds of books and die-cast toys! Plus, all vehicles in the museum are for sale. This place is super cool. Unser Racing Museum 1776 Montaño NW • 341-1776 unserracingmuseum.comKnow absolutely nothing about car racing? You’ll leave here an expert. There’s even a mock Indy Car you can climb inside. Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum 9201 Balloon Museum NE • 880-0500 cabq.gov/balloon • balloonmuseum.comAlong with its permanent installations, a new exhibit is coming to Albuquerque’s favorite balloon-themed museum. Pieces of the Sky: The Balloon Museum Quilt Challenge features 16-inch square quilts of balloons made by local artists. The show opens May 16 and runs through May 2011. Old Coal Mine Museum 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid • 473-0743 themineshafttavern.com/OldCoalMineMuseum.htmlEver wonder what’s behind Madrid’s famous Mine Shaft Tavern? It’s this place, a museum bursting with old mining equipment, antique cars and trucks, medical equipment, loads of tools, and even an antique steam locomotive. Spooky and unlike any other place around.
