After eight months, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science will re-open on Saturday with all new features including a new visiting exhibit.
A traveling exhibit called “Animal Armor” will showcase how the shells of animals like crocodiles, armadillos and tortoises influenced the design of human armor, or in some cases were actually used as protection for fighters.
“So we have a great crocodile suit from Egypt, for example, and a blowfish helmet and Samurai helmets from the 1500s different types of human armor that was inspired by what they saw in the animals of old,” said Sarah Bush, CEO for the museum.
She said one third of the museum’s exhibits have been renovated or refreshed including necessary infrastructure like sewer lines and skylights. The most notable is a brand new front admission counter and gift shop, which replaced the cafe.
On Saturday, the museum will host a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. for the public with free shows in the Verus Research DynaTheater and the planetarium.
As Bush describes the updated facility, Bella weighs in, making her presence known through her roars. She’s an animatronic replica of a tyrannosaur known as the bisti beast.
“Sure, I think always we get people excited about things like dinosaurs and space, and we really want to inspire the next generation of New Mexicans to get excited about science and to maybe even potentially work in those fields in the future,”she said. “Since so much of our state's economy is powered by research and science, we have a great history of national labs here in incredible universities like UNM and so we want to keep that curiosity ignited throughout the lifetime of New Mexicans.”
Bush said she enjoys watching children interact with Bella.
“My office sort of looks down on this part of the museum, and it's so fun to see the wonder, or sometimes fear in children's faces as this great dinosaur that they’ve just seen in movies and shows comes to life before them,” she said. “So it's definitely a great highlight of each day.”
The total cost of renovations was $3.7 million. The museum, which opened in 1986, is part of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
Support for this coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
