New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum
There are many great reasons to love Las Cruces and this week we are telling you all about the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum.
The New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces is 47 acres of real stories, real people and real fun.
The interactive museum chronicles the 4,000-year history of agriculture in the state and features exhibits and demonstrations that weave together different cultures and tell a story that is uniquely New Mexico.
With a sprawling 90,000-square-foot main building and the Organ Mountains as a backdrop, the museum is fast becoming a favorite tourist destination in southern New Mexico. Tour companies from as far away as Boston have made the museum a regular stop on tours of the Southwest.
The museum’s ever-growing livestock exhibits are a favorite of visitors. Beef cattle breeds such as Angus, Brangus, Charolais, Hereford, Corriente and Longhorns are represented in the corrals at the museum, as well as dairy cattle, horses, sheep, goats and burros. Guided tours to see the livestock take place daily.
Demonstrations also are a visitor favorite that help make this museum unique. Milking demonstrations take place each morning at 10 and the blacksmith is available Friday through Sunday to show the importance of ironwork in rural life. Other periodic demonstrations include quilting, sewing, weaving, churning, dowsing, and wool spinning.
The museum also has a greenhouse where year-round plant sales take place, as well as a pistachio orchard, and various plants and trees.
The museum is a great place for children to learn and have fun, with the Adventure Corral inside the Bruce King Building and the Children’s Discovery Garden outside.
Short-term and long-term exhibits are on display throughout the King Building, featuring everything from fine art to farm implements and ancient tools.
The museum offers day camps for children during the summer and a New Mexico history class for adults in the winter. The museum’s has a Cultural Series presentation on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m., and has several major events, including Antique Treasures Day in January, Cowboy Days in March, Blessing of the Fields in May, Ice Cream Sunday in July, and Ghosts of the Past in October. A new event called “HomeGrown: A New Mexico Food Show & Gift Market” will take place in November.
The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission fees are $5 for adults, $3 for seniors (60 and over) and $2 for children ages 6 to 17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free.
For more information, call 522-4100, or check out the museum’s website at www.nmfarmandranchmuseum.org.
