The Indian Pueblo Culture Center is owned and operated by the 19 Pueblo Tribes of New Mexico. Visit the museums, galleries and gift shops where more than 305,000 visitors annually experience the culture, art and history of pueblo life. Children are welcome to join hands-on experiences in the Pueblo House Children's Museum. Art and craft workshops, various Indian Rites and many special celebrations and events are planned throughout the year. The Pueblo Harvest Cafe serves great New Mexican and Native American dishes at reasonable prices.
This tramway lifts you from the Sandia foothills through five natural life zones to the top of the Sandia Mountains, more than 10,000 feet (3048 meters) above sea level. Time and terrain seem to move in harmony as passengers scout the rugged canyons and lush forests for bighorn sheep and deer. The tram docks alongside the High Finance Restaurant. With 2.7 miles (4.34 kilometers) of sky-view travel, be sure to visit this spot while in Albuquerque.
Layer by layer, history unravels itself in the charming Old Town Albuquerque. A locus of the city's cultural, architectural and historic tenor, Old Town has been the focal point of community life since 1706. The winding alleys of this neighborhood are dotted with traditional houses awash in lovely Pueblo-Spanish architectural influences. This quaint quarter was laid out in the quintessential colonial way, and is home to a string of notable landmarks which attest to the quarter's historical and cultural importance, for example the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, the historic San Felipe de Neri Church and the Plaza, which is perhaps the cultural and communal nucleus of Old Town. Here, wrought iron and adobe bancos (benches) rest under the shade of the plaza, offering a respite from the usually balmy weather year round. Unique items from around the world, as well as those distinctively Southwestern are sold in an array of quirky shops and boutiques. Soaked in old-world charm, Old Town is a part of the city, which can never be forgotten.
Amid undulating hills and volcanic rocks that rise and dip along New Mexico's West Mesa, nearly 15,000 ancient rock drawings serve as testament to a rich Native American and Spanish history. This 7,100-acre (2873-hectare) monument, deemed to be one of North America's most significant petroglyph sites, contains some of the nation's largest natural displays of prehistoric artwork. The drawings date back to a time when Anasazi nomadic hunters etched various drawings and messages onto the black basalt boulders of the escarpment just west of the Rio Grande. It also includes historic etchings of Spanish settlers who roamed these lands nearly 700 years ago. Together, these priceless drawings serve as indelible vestiges of cultures that once influenced and breathed life into these landscapes. Both an adventurous and education experience, visitors to the monument can take a ranger-guided tour that can last up to two hours or explore various trails on their own.
Take a walk through time from the big bang through the ice ages in one of the premier natural history museums in the country. Also, discover a great collection of massive dinosaurs while you watch technicians work on actual fossils. You can also experience the Dynamax Theater with its multi-story screen and super sound system. Step into the Time Machine and stop by the Lode Star Center that includes a high-tech, 175-seat theater, telescope and planetarium. The STARTUP Gallery tells the story of Albuquerque's role in the development of the computer. The Nature Works store in the museum features a unique inventory of items related to dinosaurs, birds, and various species of animals and scientific gadgets.
Learn and play at a center that challenges people of all ages and backgrounds to explore, learn and critically think. Explore art, science, technology, culture and fun. The museum contains a collection of over 250 interactive science, technology and art exhibits such as an experiment bar and a high-wire bike and robotics lab. Demonstrations, theater performances and a variety of programs and activities are also offered. The museum store provides a wide array of bilingual and educational items.
This place is known as America's official museum of nuclear science and history. A short movie shown every hour features Albert Einstein and the people involved with the development of nuclear science. The world's largest public collection of nuclear weapons is displayed here. Also on display are military air crafts, robotics and nuclear medicine exhibits.
As part of the ABQ BioPark, this is an awesome orchestration of natural wonder. Sleek and graceful sharks glide about a 285,000-gallon climate controlled simulated natural habitat. Saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico is contained and capsulated in this state-of-the-art facility which brings life from the exotic seas to the high desert. Among the oceanic life exhibited, you will see stingrays, sand tigers, sea horses and sea dragons. Albuquerque Aquarium is definitely a must-visit to marvel at the aquatic life!
For anyone who appreciates the natural beauty of flowers and plant life, this is the perfect destination. The Desert Pavilion features an ultra modern glass conservatory which produces heat filtered, ultra violet rays to allow Xeric species to bloom year round. The Mediterranean Pavilion is home to fragrant plant life and lush walled gardens. The PNM Butterfly Pavilion and butterfly-hummingbird garden are majestic. Exhibits explore the phenomenal process of photosynthesis, providing a fascinating kaleidoscope of color.
Cibola is a National Forest with separate sections extending over the states of New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Diverse wildlife inhabits the forest. Hiking is a popular activity as are camping, mountain biking and horseback riding.Home to four National Grasslands namely the Black Kettle, McClellan Creek, Kiowa, and Rita Blanca, Cibola is a massive national forest playing a vital role in preserving the ecology of the state.