Albuquerque, NM–The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science is implementing a new admissions policy in an effort to make the Museum and Sandia Mountain Natural History Center even more accessible to New Mexico residents.

Both the Museum (located at 1801 Mountain Road NW, Albuquerque) and the Sandia Mountain Natural History Center (located at 60 Columbine Lane, Cedar Crest, NM) will be open to the public and free to New Mexico residents (with ID) the first Sunday of every month. (Entrance into the Lockheed Martin DynaTheater and Planetarium will be at regular admission fees.)

There is something for everyone at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science! The ancient past comes to life in the museum’s eight exhibit halls that make up the Walk Through Time. You can see New Mexico in the Late Triassic when it was a land of tropical floodplains and giant amphibians and crocodile-like phytosaurs prowled the waterways, walk amidst the largest land animals of all time in the late Jurassic, and then plunge into the sea during the Cretaceous and swim alongside mosasaurs and prehistoric sharks. Other highlights in your journey through time include an active volcano, Ice Age cave, Dire wolves, mammoths, and Albuquerque’s last camel!

Now on display in the museum’s Atrium, the award-winning designs of this year’s All That Glitters Design Competition. Sponsored by the New Mexico Jewelers Association (NMJA), a non-profit organization, this year’s competition received 51 entries from local artists and jewelers. The NMJA is celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year. The All That Glitters Design Competition includes categories of Gold/Platinum, Silver, Precious Metal Clay, and Bead Design. Don’t miss this collection of newly created stunners, on display through October 31st!

Opening September 30th in the Lockheed Martin DynaTheater, giant-screen adventure, Tornado Alley! Narrated by Bill Paxton, the film follows Storm Chasers star Sean Casey and the scientists of VORTEX2, the largest tornado-research project ever assembled, on separate missions to encounter one of Earth’s most awe-inspiring events—the birth of a tornado. Get ready for an epic chase through the “severe weather capital of the world.” Visit www.nmnaturalhistory.org for showtimes and prices.

Previously not open to the general public, The Sandia Mountain Natural History Center (SMNHC) is an award-winning environmental education center located in the Sandia Mountains just east of Albuquerque. This beautiful 128-acre piñon-juniper forest is owned by Albuquerque Public Schools and operated by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. This wonderful facility will now be open to the public the first Sunday of every month and free to New Mexico residents!

The SMNHC has over five miles of hiking trails for self-guided hikes, a Bird Blind, Geocaching, and a picknicking site. Each first Sunday a presentation will be offered at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. A solar telescope will be available for safe viewing from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Sandia Mountain Natural History Center
2011 Program Schedule
Open 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Special Program
10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

August 7: Geology of the Sandias
September 4: Revised Vertebrate Fauna of the Late Triassic Redonda Formation
October 2: Seasonal Changes in the Sandias
November 6: Winter Plants
December 4: Regional Geology of Sandia Mountains and the Rio Grande rift, rocks, minerals, mines, faults and water

Fall is an ideal time to hike at the Sandia Mountain Natural History Center.
Join Senior Educator Michael Sanchez during his special program and then hit the trails to observe seasonal changes for yourself!

2011 Schedule of Free Sundays for New Mexico Residents at the
NMMNHS and SMNHC

(Entrance into the Lockheed Martin DynaTheater and Planetarium will be at the regular admission fees.)

August 7
September 4
October 2
November 6
December 4

About the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science
The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is a regional center of excellence in scientific research, exhibits, and science education.

The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science is located at 1801 Mountain Road NW, Albuquerque, 505-841-2800. The Sandia Mountain Natural History Center is located at 60 Columbine Lane, Cedar Crest, NM, 505-281-5259. For more information visit us online at www.nmnaturalhistory.org.