Southern New Mexico - American Southwest - page 332

490 N. Water St. & 575/541-2137. http://museums.las-cruces.org. Free admission. Mon-Fri 9am-4pm;
Sat 9am-1pm.
Las Cruces Museum of Natural History Kids This small city-funded museum
offers a variety of exhibits, changed quarterly, that emphasize science and natural history.
The museum features live animals of the Chihuahuan Desert, hands-on science activities,
and a small native plant garden. The Cenozoic Shop offers scientific toys and books
about the region. Exhibits, such as “Insects and Bugs” and “Every Body Eats,” change
every few months. This museum has plans to move to a new venue in the downtown
mall, though at press time an opening date had not been set.
Mesilla Valley Mall, 700 S. Telshor Blvd. & 575/522-3120. http://museums.las-cruces.org. Free admis-
sion. Mon-Thurs and Sat 10am-5pm; Fri 10am-8pm; Sun 1-5pm.

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New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum This 47-acre interactive
museum brings to life the 3,000-year history of farming, ranching, and rural living in
New Mexico. It's housed within a huge structure that's designed to look like a hacienda-
style barn, with a U-shaped courtyard in back and exhibits surrounding it on expansive
grounds. The museum displays such relics as a 1937 John Deere tractor and a number of
examples of how ranchers “make do,” ingeniously combining tools such as a tractor seat
with a milk barrel to come up with a chair. Visitors can watch a cow being milked, stroll
along corrals filled with livestock, enjoy several gardens, and drop by the blacksmith
shop. Annual events at the museum are the La Fiesta de San Ysidro in May and Cowboy
Days the third weekend in October.
4100 Dripping Springs Rd. (follow University Ave. east beyond the edge of town). & 575/522-4100.
www.frhm.org. Admission $5 adults, $3 seniors 60 and over, $2 children 5-17; free for children 4 and
under. Mon-Sat 9am-5pm; Sun noon-5pm.

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San Albino Church This is one of the oldest churches in the Mesilla valley. The
present structure was built in 1906 on the foundation of the original church, constructed
in 1851. It was named for St. Albin, a medieval English bishop of North Africa, on whose
day an important irrigation ditch from the Rio Grande was completed. The church bells
date from the early 1870s; the pews were made in Taos of Philippine mahogany.
North side of Old Mesilla Plaza. & 575/526-9349. Free admission; donations appreciated. Usually Mon-
Sat 1-3pm (call ahead). English-language Mass Sat 5:30pm and Sun 11am; Spanish Mass Sun 8am, Mon-
Fri 7am.
Shopping
Shoppers should be aware that in Las Cruces, Monday is a notoriously quiet day. Some
stores close for the day, so it's best to call ahead before heading to a specific store.
For art, visit Lundeen's Inn of the Arts , 618 S. Alameda Blvd. ( & 575/526-3326;
www.innofthearts.com), displaying the works of about 30 Southwest painters, sculptors,
and potters; Rising Sky Artworks, 415 E. Foster ( & 575/525-8454; www.risingsky
pottery.com), which features works in clay by local and Western artists; and the William
Bonney Gallery, 2060 Calle de Parian, just off the southeast corner of Old Mesilla Plaza
( & 575/526-8275 ), with a variety of Southwestern art.
For books, try Mesilla Book Center, in an 1856 mercantile building on the west side
of Old Mesilla Plaza ( & 575/526-6220 ).
For native crafts and jewelry, check out Silver Assets , 1948 Calle de Santiago
( & 575/523-8747; www.silverassetsonline.com), 1 1 / 2 blocks east of San Albino Church