New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe, NM

History is very important to Santa Fe, New Mexico which is why the city developed the New Mexico History Museum for residents and visitors to their city. The museum first began as a facility to store collections that were placed on display in the Palace of the Governors. As the project evolved the museum came into fruition allowing the artifacts to be on display. The museum holds education, civic, and social events to help promote the history of Santa Fe.

Hours of admission are 10am to 5pm Tuesday through Sunday. On Fridays they will remain open until 8pm most weeks. The admission costs will differ depending on the visitors. Out of state visitors are $9 and New Mexico residents are $6. New Mexico residents can attend the museum for free on Sundays and senior citizen residents can attend for free on Wednesdays. Children under 17 are free all the time. Friday is free from 5 to 8pm.

The museum officially opened in May of 2009 offering temporary and permanent exhibits for display. These exhibits look at the history of the native people, Spanish colonization, the Mexican period, and the Santa Fe Trail. The museum is also an anchor to the campus with the Palace of the Governors, Palace Press, and the Fray Angelico Chavez History Library. The Palace of the Governors can be toured by visitors to the museum. It was built in the 17th century as Spain's seat of government. It is an adobe structure and a national landmark.

The library is a location for 40,000 books, maps, microfilms, and linear feet of archival material. It is an important place to visit for research about the area and looking at older documents. They are open on Friday 1 to 5pm and Wednesdays from 1 to 8pm.

The building housing the museum pieces is 8,300 square feet. The funds for the collections and the space were raised in a grant. The entire facility used a grant for two years with $139,900 as part of the grant. The funds have been able to recreate some of the collections which fell in to disrepair due to the storage. Other pieces were in better condition and placed on display.

The collections will range from simple pottery creations to furniture. A great deal of the furniture had to be renovated before it could be on display. Visitors can come at any time of the year to see the exhibits. Since there are temporary exhibits there are different things to see throughout the year for residents.

Some of the pieces are Native American artifacts based on the Navajo and later settlers. The Santa Fe Trail was imperative for bringing settlers into the area. As Santa Fe progressed the city changed and became what it is today. The exhibits at the New Mexico Museum show these changes. The cost of attending as mentioned above is fairly reasonable, and with numerous free days children and adults can learn about their cities history.