Natural history museum returns to 7-day schedule
With a quarter of a million visitors a year, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science is one of the state’s most popular museums.
The museum had cut back to a six-day week in October as the state struggled to balance its budget.
On Tuesday, the museum will again be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We are thrilled to be able to bring the many resources of the Museum of Natural History & Science to New Mexicans and our visitors seven days a week,” said Margie Marino, executive director of the museum. “This underscores the support and commitment we are getting from the state to continue this museum’s vital role in fostering STEAM education — science, technology, engineering, arts and math.”
Marino said it was necessary to close for one day a week to come up with a plan to help balance the budget.
The six-day week was taken to the board of directors on July 22, and it was put into effect on Oct. 11.
“After we looked at all the data,” she said. “We weren’t saving that much money being closed one day. We shifted some things around and left some positions vacant. This is a better deal for the community.”
Special exhibits and programs will feature science, music and art, as the museum stresses the importance of
creativity in developing new scientific ideas.
Marino said the new schedule will start just in time for “Wild Music Sounds & Songs of Life,” which opens Saturday.
The highly interactive traveling exhibition explores evidence for the biological origins of music.
Through environmental soundscapes, exhibits, and listening experiences, visitors are invited to explore nature’s score and expand their understanding of what makes music.
“We got this exhibit from the Science Museum of Minnesota,” she said. “There are over 30 stations. I think the exhibit will resonate with the Native community, because it’s about appreciation of natural sounds.”
In addition to the new exhibit, the museum will host the world’s first cave simulator on Sunday.
CaveSim is a 60-foot, crawl-through electronic cave simulator with video game-type scoring.
CaveSim designs and builds patented crawl-through caves with highly realistic cave formations with electronic sensors that give users feedback about how safely and softly they can cave.
“This is a safe caving experience for those of us who always wanted to explore caves. In addition to being great fun, it teaches conservation while exploring,” Marino said.