Aerial shot of the New Mexico Museum of Pure Historical past & Science. Courtesy of NMMNHS
NMMNHS Information:
ALBUQUERQUE — The New Mexico Museum of Pure Historical past & Science is embarking on its first main facility renovation in a long time, together with a redesigned museum entrance and field workplace, refreshed exhibition areas, and infrastructure enhancements.
“We’re trying ahead to important enhancements on the New Mexico Museum of Pure Historical past & Science. Our objective is to create a extra participating and simply navigable expertise for all our guests that ensures a robust future for the Museum,” Government Director Dr. Anthony Fiorillo mentioned. “To facilitate enhancements to the customer expertise and the Museum’s long-term affect, we might want to shut quickly.”
Throughout the renovation, the Museum’s foyer shall be enlarged to enhance visitors circulation and permit for extra environment friendly ticketing. The field workplace shall be unified to streamline ticket-buying, the NatureWorks Discovery Retailer shall be expanded, new skylights will add extra pure mild within the Museum’s atrium, and everlasting exhibition halls shall be modernized and refreshed. Lastly, updates to the sewer line will accommodate future progress. The whole value of the Museum renovation is estimated at $3.67 million. Will probably be funded by way of a mixture of state sources together with from Statewide Capital Outlay and the Cultural Affairs Infrastructure Fund. Further funding for the renovation of NatureWorks shall be offered by New Mexico Museum of Pure Historical past Basis.
The museum will near the general public to accommodate the renovation starting August 4 for roughly seven months. The general public may have a possibility to ask questions and supply enter throughout a “What’s Previous Will Be New” neighborhood engagement eventat 3 p.m., Friday, June 27, on the museum. The general public can be invited to a free farewell celebration the weekend of August 2 to rejoice the museum’s enduring legacy earlier than the establishment embarks on creating an much more participating and galvanizing house for future generations.
“We’re assured that these facility enhancements will make the Museum an much more dynamic establishment than it’s as we speak,” mentioned Gary Friedman, president of the NMMNHS Board of Trustees. “Our Board is worked up to work with Museum workers and Museum’s Basis through the course of this challenge forward of the Museum’s fortieth Anniversary celebration in 2026.”
On the similar time, the Museum is collaborating with the Metropolis of Albuquerque on its deliberate enhancements to the intersection of Mountain Highway and nineteenth Avenue in addition to the event of the Albuquerque Rail Path on the east aspect of the Museum. When accomplished, each will present simpler entry to the museum for autos, pedestrians and bicycles.
All through the closure, museum educators will deal with outreach to colleges and public occasions, bringing pure historical past training into the area people. This can embody the event of a cellular exhibition and pop-up displays out there to libraries, neighborhood facilities, and different public companions. Teaching programs will proceed on the Sandia Mountain Pure Historical past Middle, an environmental training heart operated in collaboration with Albuquerque Public Faculties. Restricted onsite programming, together with First Friday Fractals, shall be accessible to guests partway by way of the closure. The devoted workers of the museum will stay valued workers of the New Mexico Division of Cultural Affairs, guaranteeing their ongoing contributions to the company’s mission. To finest assist operational wants throughout the division, some workers could have the chance for non permanent assignments inside different divisions, additional leveraging their abilities and experience.
All through the closure, updates on the challenge will be discovered at nmnaturalhistory.org and on the museum’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
In regards to the New Mexico Museum of Pure Historical past and Science
The New Mexico Museum of Pure Historical past and Science is a division of the Division of Cultural Affairs, underneath the management of the Board of Trustees of the New Mexico Museum of Pure Historical past & Science. Applications and displays are generously supported by the New Mexico Museum of Pure Historical past Basis, by way of the beneficiant assist of donors. Established in 1986, the mission of the New Mexico Museum of Pure Historical past & Science is to protect and interpret the distinctive pure and scientific heritage of our state by way of extraordinary collections, analysis, displays, and packages designed to ignite a ardour for lifelong studying. The NMMNHS presents exhibitions, packages, and workshops in Geoscience, together with Paleontology and Mineralogy, Bioscience, and House Science. It’s the Southwest’s largest repository for fossils and features a Planetarium and a big format 3D DynaTheater.
