SuzieTrue

I've been doing the research both here and at the library. What museums in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos are your favorites? I definitely want to see the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. Not sure which history museums to put at the top of the list. Also looking at some of the quirky ones like the Atomic or Turquoise.

ST

GapYear2009

Santa Fe - Museum of Folk Art - NOT TO BE MISSED.

katyslc

I second GapYear2009! The Museum of Folk Art is unlike anything you've ever seen; absolutely fascinating. Make sure and get a brochure/guide to make sense of the displays. In addition to the museum dedicated to her, I believe that you can make reservations to visit Georgia O'Keefe's home northeast of Santa F; I haven't done this, but wish I had! In Taos the Millicent Rogers museum is wonderful, as well. Finally, it's not a museum, per se, but the Santuario at Chimayo is really interesting. Have fun!

ElendilPickle

I like the Atomic Museum; it's not exactly quirky, but it's interesting.

If you're here during their open season, head up the Turquoise Trail past Cedar Crest, and take the turnoff for the crest so you can visit the wonderful Tinkertown Museum.

In Taos, we enjoyed the Taos Art Museum, which is located in artist Nicolai Fechin's house. Both the house and the artwork are interesting!

Lee Ann

DebitNM

OK, it's not a museum, but the Zoo in Albuquerque is top notch, if that sort of thing interests you. No, it's not San Diego, but is a gem and is small enough to get through in a couple of hours.

http://www.cabq.gov/biopark/zoo

I can't remember if this is your first trip to NM or not; nor where you are from. If you are a newcomer to NM, be sure to check out the Native American and Hispanic offerings to get a real sense of the area such as:
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center -
http://www.indianpueblo.org/


National Hispanic Cultural Center - http://www.nhccnm.org/

Outside of Santa Fe, in Los Alamos, The Bradbury Science Museum is very interesting, especially if you have an interest in WW2

http://bsm.lanl.gov/

This site is one of the best:

http://www.nmculturaltreasures.org/

Deb

SuzieTrue

Deb, I was thinking the Bradbury Museum might lean towards science fiction. The WWII part sounds interesting. This is our first time to this part of NM but have been to AZ a few times so plan on doing a number of the Native American museums and pueblos.

GapYear and katyslc, thanks for the recommendation for the Museum of Folk Art. I might have put that lower on my list.

LeeAnn, I was wondering about the Tinkertown Museum. Will put that higher on the list.

Deb, hadn't even considered the zoo since we don't have any kids with us. Is it special/different enough to skip one of the museums for?

ST

DebitNM

I am an animal lover and to me - a zoo ranks right there with museums. We got kidless and love it.

Since the zoo is compact, 3 hours would work. You could do the zoo in the morning [when animals are most active] and still get lunch somewhere and do one of the cultural centers, or both, in the afternoon.

Bradbury isn't sci-fi stuff [though it is scary stuff], we found it very interesting.

Folk Art in SF is a must see, as others have said.

Deb

kodi

Another vote for the Folk Art Museum. I loved it.