Fodor's Expert Review Western New Mexico University Museum (WNMU)

The Western New Mexico University Museum (WNMU) contains the world's largest permanent display of distinctive black-on-white Mimbres pottery (it's especially notable for its crisply painted animal forms). The Mimbres collection—which the museum bought for a remarkable $1,000 from the family of the man who procured most of the pieces by illicit pot hunting—fills the main floor of this 1917 Trost & Trost building that once housed WNMU's science classes and gym. Town history exhibits are displayed downstairs, including a period classroom and the original gym floor. Set on a hill on the west end of town, WNMU's campus offers a nice view of the surrounding mountains and the valley below; the museum's topmost floor is window-lined, and visitors can enjoy the broader view from that vantage point, as well as historic photos and other university memorabilia. Mimbres designs are reproduced on mugs and more in the gift shop.