Entry was 12 or 13 dollars. Worth every cent. Desk workers appeared to be indigenous or at least native to the area and were super kind. Right off the plaza and also connects directly to the Governor's Palace, which you can also visit. It's a very large and sprawling museum. Some rooms have a lot to read and others have sparse explanations. Of course the exhibitions focus on New Mexico. When I visited, they had exhibits on Southwest jewelry, New Mexico stories, southwestern paintings, and one about the railroad. Other exhibits: history of printing presses in New Mexico, along with cool print examples. Another large exhibition they had (Home on the Range) was about how the US government/military seized large swaths of private ranch land from New Mexico ranchers to test war weapons. Some of them never got that land back. I HAD NO IDEA! This lead me to learn more on my own. They have other features on New Mexicans fighting back against the system, such as when three Navajo women defeated the construction of a coal-fired power plant. One of my other favorite exhibits focused on dining in New Mexico. It was set up like a cool 50's diner and played awesome music that made it more fun. Panels covered numerous famous New Mexican dishes and eateries. It was a lot of reading, but worth it. There were several other worthwhile side quests in this museum. Should definitely make it a stop early in your Santa Fe trip to add context and a sense of appreciation to your journey. read more

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Well-curated extensive collection covering a wide variety of historical topics pertaining to New Mexico. Conveniently located and with plenty of comfortable sitting spaces from which to admire the exhibits. Admission to the Palace of the Governors next door is included and a free docent tour was offered, which was interesting. If you like museums, highly recommended! read more

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Our Guide (Terry) of Santa Fe Footprint is a Docent here and recommended that we visit. We did and we really enjoyed our too short visit, especially New Mexico History and the Zozobra Exhibit. The Gift Shop/Book Shop was very impressive, including a nice section on frontier and Conversos Jewish History. Our ticket was good for the day on a come and go basis. read more

New Mexico History Museum opened in 2009, documenting history of New Mexico, from native American culture to WWII to current, the American culture. Manifest destiny was an ideal in the 19th-century United States that people of US would inevitably settle the continent from the Atlantic Ocean, to the Pacific: destined to expand westward across North America, and that this belief was both obvious ("manifest") and certain ("destiny"). Fred Harvey (1835-1901) might have been the American Michelin guy: whose Harvey House (1876) restaurants served rail passengers in Santa Fe area. Uncle Sam & his 48 daughters, by Fray Angelico / Manuel Chavez; Jack Chow, B-17 bomber. The compound includes: Palace of the Governors Fray Angélico Chávez History Library Palace Press Photo Archives Fray Angélico Chávez (1910-96) was a Hispanic American priest, historian, who wrote poems, and paint: "The library is named after Franciscan priest Fray Angélico Chávez to honor his life and contributions to New Mexico as an author, archivist, and artist. His personal papers, the Fray Angélico Chávez Collection, are now part of the library collection where he conducted much of his research." read more

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Great museum. A lot to see. Unlike other downtown museums this one is priced fairly for the size of the collection. Nice Harvey House display. I always enjoy the Palace of the Govenor's (included in ticket price) and it is preserved nicely. Give yourself time to enjoy this one. read more

We came to the New Mexico History museum on a Sunday afternoon. This museum should be among the first stops of anyone visiting New Mexico-it was well done and gave a detailed background of New Mexico from back before 1500's to the present day. The museum was comfortable, spacious and has a great gift shop! They are also conveniently located in the heart of downtown Santa Fe, and as long as you have your pass, you can easily go in and out. read more

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Visit this museum for an engaging way to learn about New Mexico's history. I will admit, I went in not really knowing much about New Mexico and left an expert. Had no idea how much influence New Mexico had on US and Mexico relations. Very inexpensive and family friendly as well. read more

New Mexico History Museum - Museums Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

NM History Museum is a wonderful museum that was much better than what I initially expected! My friend and I were in Santa Fe and decided to stop by this museum out of whim...and we actually ended up spending a few hours inside the museum learning all about NM from its early days back in the 17th century....all the way to today! The museum information and quality was top notch. My friend is a casual history buff and he really enjoyed all the displayed, the information presented and all the interactive presentation of the information that the museum offered, too. For me, as a barely literate/fluent person in history, this was a good opportunity for me to learn about my current residential state for sure! I liked that the museum was very well kept. It was clean and easy to navigate. The information presented was pretty much by the timeline, from early days of the native to the current days of New Mexico. I liked that the museum was not crowded, so you can spend all the time you like going through it without feeling so rushed and bumping into many people. The location of the museum was also great. It was right around Santa Fe Plaza, so even if someone in your party got bored/not interested in the museum, they have somewhere to go while those interested in history can spend all their days buffing up their history knowledge. Overall, I would definitely recommend visitors to NM/those who are interested in history to visit this place for sure. It's a nice, pleasant place to enjoy and I'm glad I got a chance to visit this place now that COVID situation got better. P.S. there's a slight discount for NM residents, too. read more

September 2018. This was the place where I purchased two senior tickets for $50 apiece as membership to the North American Reciprocal Museum for one year. Covers some 800 museums in the United States, including a 8 in Santa Fe , and 14 in New York City. Museum covers the history of New Mexico, from Juan De Onate, first colonial governor of New Mexico, dressed in armor on a horse. Other highlights include exhibits on the Santa Fe Trail, a full size replica covered wagon, westward expansion, the Mexican American War, Fort Marcy, the Navajos, the pueblos, Territory of New Mexico, coming of the railroads, 1920s tourism, the Harvey Girls, Fred Harvey's restaurant chain, WW2 and the Manhattan project, and the making of the first atomic bomb. Used those senior tickets to visit a two dozen museums in the Santa Fe and New York City regions. Did not renew, as currently this museum, like all indoor museums in New Mexico, is closed due to pandemic. Waiting to visit again, as this year's ballon festival is cancelled, before renewing. BTW statues of Juan De Onate, first colonial governor of New Mexico, tried and convicted for atrocities against the native population, were torn down in Albuquerque and nearby in June, 2020 by protesters. Even with the museum closed, it's still in the news. This museum opened May 24, 2009. Big generation gap: 49 reviews on Yelp, 1428 reviews on Tripadvisor. Older folks more attuned to museum hopping. read more

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Three hours was barely long enough to see all of the wonderful displays of this state's/area's history from 1200 A.D. to now. I took 240 photos of their information signs. They have thousand of artifacts, photos, paintings, etc. These people have been through SO much. I learned a lot about local artists. I liked their interesting railroad exhibit. I had never heard of Fred Harvey, his hotels, or the famous Harvey girls (female employees with strict conduct codes). They even have their own cookbook. Museum employees were very friendly--especially the two men in the gift shop. They had great book and accessory recommendations. read more

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Could spend all day in this museum. I learned so much and it was cool to google other areas of the country and world to compare what was happening in other parts of the country while New Mexico was being formed. So impressed with the amount of artifacts that were here. Interesting to see how history repeats itself. I tried not to take too many pictures as to not spoil it for others. For travelers, this area of Santa Fe is built very close together. I'd try to find street or garage parking on Sandoval Street. Admission is very fair at $12 each for non-resident adults. read more

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If your depth of knowledge about New Mexico goes no deeper than your last Frito pie - and believe me that goes real deep if you know what I mean - then you owe it to yourself to pay a visit to this handsomely mounted museum next to the plaza. The fourth youngest state in the union has quite a colorful past. Unfortunately the historic Palace of the Governors was closed for renovation when Jamie W. and I recently visited, which precluded us from stepping back in time to when the Spanish territorial governor ruled the entire Southwest two centuries back. Luckily the museum was attraction enough for the $12 admission. In chronological order through maps, images, and related artifacts, it covers the state's extensive Native American history, the Spanish Colonial period, the Mexican period, and the road to statehood when it became the 47th in 1912. And even though it was filmed mostly on the MGM backlot, "The Harvey Girls" is celebrated in its own alcove because of Fred Harvey's groundbreaking restaurant chain and of course, the classic song, "On the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe". RELATED - Do you know the way to Santa Fe? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: http://bit.ly/2I4mWdq read more

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Oh wow! I've lived in NM for several years but never came here before. What brought me here was a special exhibit on New Mexico Magazine (which was nice but not what I expected). The star of the show is the permanent exhibits which do an amazing job at detailing the incredible history of this beautiful state. I am not usually one to enjoy museums but this one captured by attention at the start. Loved it! read more

$12 dollars for tourist open until 5 pm Took us 45 min for a quick visit 3 stairs. Work war 1 and 2 Objects since 1200 or before. Very interesting read more

New Mexico History Museum - Museums Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

Very very cool museum with a wealth of history knowledge gained about the region. All I can say is it's sickening how the natives got treated, displaced and killed over land that was theirs. Definite must if you're in Santa Fe. read more

Hubs and I have both been to the history museum twice. Different years and we enjoyed it both times. They change what is shown often so it's always interesting to see what's new. This place is kid friendly and not over packed. read more

New Mexico History Museum - Arrows on the ceiling - Museums Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

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This Museum is one of the best! We have been coming to Santa Fe for the last ten years, but always felt we were missing some of the flavor of the city. We decided to come here after reading about the Museum in our tour book and comparing the reviews with those on Yelp. Tour books are great for giving you an overall macro view of a city. But in Yelp, we found it had the real time skinny! For instance: We would have gone to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, but found on Yelp that they had lent out some their key exhibits to other Museums this summer. Second, the prices quoted in the tour books were years old and incorrectly stated that the O'Keeffe Museum was included. Only Yelp, had the correct and updated information. The NM History Museum has several cool features. They have two large murals of early photography going back to 1888 as you come in. As you walk past them go left, you will enter a hands-on history area which we found extraordinary. They have set up a historiograph time line of the greater New Mexican area going back over five hundred years. I never really appreciated how fought over this part of the world and New Mexico in particular was during that long period. First the Spanish with the First Nation tribes, followed by the the Mexican nationalists, and then of course the US during the Spanish-American War -- all fighting over this piece of paradise. (See photos) This museum is very hands-on, using both visual (picture and video) as well as the physical artifacts from the various eras. We had a great time and will certainly be back on our next trip. If you are in Santa Fe for any reason, you need to stop here first! We only realized that ten years late. Enjoy! read more

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This was such a fun and interesting museum. It covered everything from the time before the Spanish arrived and up until present day. It's very modern and well kept and if you are already in such a beautiful and historical city, you may as well educate yourself to appreciate the history of it all. I wish I had snapped more photographs. I highly highly recommend. read more

New Mexico History Museum - The exterior - Museums Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

We love history, and New Mexico History Museum did not disappoint. The museum is okay. It's the tour guide that made the difference between just average and a most memorable visit. Our guide, Jerry, loved his role, had a story for everything, and was patient with questions. You come away with an understanding of the hard life in the Southwest. A Cowboy's life has been more romanticized than reality. Cowboy Exhibit is temporary, and worth it. History of the area is older than the history of the US. Allow 2 hours, or 3 with tour. If you think this review with photo is useful, funny or cool, I'd appreciate your feedback below. read more

New Mexico History Museum - Main Entrance off the Plaza - Museums Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

Stopped by here just to visit the gift shop. The customer service here was excellent and the sales man was well versed on all the artists. Love the earring I bought. read more

Good museum. We probably spent a few hours enjoying the exhibits. It's set up in an orderly fashion. We were here on a particularly quiet day. Definitely worth the stop. read more

Excellent presentation of New Mexico history! Beautifully staged...warm, professional staff! read more

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This museum is fantastic- in fact, it was funny, as we were getting ready to leave, we looked for the restrooms, and I remembered seeing a sign on the bottom floor: went down there and saw another hour's worth or more of exploring we had yet to do. This museum is very detailed with a ton of extremely interesting historical detail showing both sides of history, which was fascinating. I found myself wanting to go home and look up books on so many topics. If I'm ever back in Santa Fe I would definitely go back! read more

I've been to museums around the world; Phoenix, New York, etc. This museum is spectacular. It's so well done, I was surprised that Santa Fe had a museum this amazing. Also, Johnny the greeter at the front desk is outstandingly professional and welcoming. He was amazing and is well deserving; on the level of a professional docent or other museum staff. The exhibit on the Harvey Girls was one of my favorite. You will see exhibits on WWI, WWII, The Manhattan Project, New Mexico's History, Arizona becoming a state, and more. It was spectacular and was a "much better experience" than the museum across the street (New Mexico Museum of Art) if you're pressed for time down by the plaza, and have to make a choice. If so, chose this museum!! The gift shop was also sufficient for me, as I was able to buy a Harvey Girls DVD and a coffee mug (I collect those). WORTH THE VISIT! read more

Visited this Museum today. Extremely let down by the exhibits. I was in and out in a brief period of time. Headed over to IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Art which is superb. Probably simply not the type of artwork that interests me although another visitor and I spoke and she was also mightily disappointed. I have no idea what the holdings of the Museum are however who ever is in charge of the current exhibits is falling short of the mark. read more

My family and I were recently visiting Santa Fe, NM and happened upon this delightful museum of local history. We really enjoyed our visit there learning about the local history, the Harvey Girls, the Railroad, etc. The only disappointment was that we weren't allowed to go to the bottom level. Something was going on there and it was closed off. However, it is worth a visit. Don't forget to take time to explore the Governor's Palace next door. read more

I was very excited to visit the museum to see the Palace of the Governors. However, upon visiting found that it was closed for renovations until 2020. This wasn't made very clear online and I'm not sure I would have made the effort to come to the museum and pay $12 had I known this. Nonetheless, we were already there and went. The main history exhibit was interesting, clearly an updated, newish exhibit. The temporary exhibit was on the atomic bomb and was also interesting. Overall, the exhibits were interesting enough but I didn't get what I came and paid for. read more

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This was an OK museum. There are definitely things for a history and vintage loving person to like here. Maybe I'm just not as into static museums anymore? Or maybe it's the subject matter? I'm not really sure. But what was interesting about this place was imagining the Who's Who of this area living in this place, and then a few of the items they had in their collection. That stagecoach!! Some Gustav Baumann stuff. D. H. Lawrence's travel (?) case. Kinda random. The new section of the museum looked really 80's. Or maybe the 80s were completely based on New Mexico style? It's just that this was built less than 10 years ago, and it really looked like it was out of the 80s. Anyway, if you're killing some time it's not a bad place to wander around. read more

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Even though Covid-19 still limits the number of visitors who can be in the incredible History Museum downtown, the New Mexico History Museum recently added two tools to make the Museum accessible to visitors around the world. The first thing the Museum did was to use digital technology to allow people to walk through the entire museum in the same manner that you can see a house-for-sale on a virtual walk-through. The technology is amazing! As you "walk" through the museum, you can see every exhibit and can even click on virtual buttons on the wall to read display text panels in English or Spanish. The self-guided tour is super user-friendly and can be accessed 24/7. In addition to this amazing feature, the Museum also provides hour-long docent-led (narrated) virtual tours every Wednesday and Thursday. The tours are free and you register through the Museum's website (Virtual Tours). Although it is not quite as much fun as exploring the Museum in person, it is cool to be able to join a virtual tour from the comfort of your living room - no matter where you might be! read more

Free Fridays. What?? Every Friday, from 5-8, the museum is open to the public for free. Yep. Free. This behemoth of a glass & stone building with glorious glorious a/c, a beautiful courtyard and multiple levels of well-curated historical pieces is free. How can you not like that? Beyond the physical beauty of the building, I loved the layout. I was greeted at the door by a security officer who handed me a map, gave me a quick intro to how the building was laid out, when the docent tour was going to begin, and sent me on my way. The museum has a terrific collection of art, clothes, photos, artifacts, movies, and aural histories. Collections that stood out to me: NM's journey to statehood, the changing population of the state, events of local, national and international significance, and local flavor that makes NM The Land of Enchantment. The top floor has a rotating gallery and it's worth it to check it out. While I was there, the collection was based upon women's roles in New Mexico history. As ignorant as it makes me sound, I was shocked to see how many significant contributions African-American women (especially in the medical field) have made it the state. I never considered New Mexico a place of migration for African-Americans and getting a chance to learn the history was illuminating for me. The rest of the collection was just as interesting. It started with Native women and focused on art, clothes, looms, pottery, and contributions to the home. The tour then settled into 'pioneer' women, the creation of a different sensibility/culture, inroads in and out of the home, and culminated in the election of Susana Martinez -- New Mexico's first female governor and the first latina governor in the US.* Easily accessible and genuinely interesting, the New Mexico History Museum is a fantastic way to spend time learning more about the beautiful city and state that sits in America's Southwest. Admittedly, the external design drew me in, but the collection kept me there. And, the a/c. It's glorious. Glorious, I say! *Apropos of nothing, Bill Richardson was on my flight from Chicago to Albuquerque. Sorta cool. read more

New Mexico History Museum - Credit: http://www.nmhistorymuseum.org/ - Museums Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

Nice museum with beautiful exhibits and timelines showing the NM history. The Governor's Palace was closed for remodeling so we didn't get a chance to check that out. Love how the tickets are free for active military...thank you! read more

We did a whirlwind of activities today and this was our last history lesson of the day! We only had about thirty minutes this afternoon before they closed so we only saw portions unfortunately. The museum was a tiny bit confusing on where to go but a guard very nicely walked us through some options. We walked through the history of New Mexico and thought it was very, very well laid out and easy to engage with. The pinhole camera exhibit was also very well done. read more

The museum has a daily hour long Docent led tour that is worthwhile a helps you appreciate New Mexico's long history, extending thousands of years before the Spanish arrived. I really appreciated the efforts to keep the museum from being too Western centric. The price wasn't expensive, and we were able to visit by going through the palace if the governors. You could spend about three hours in the museum. It's worth it, especially if Santa Fe is experiencing torrential summer rains. read more

The New Mexico History Museum is a fun and educational museum telling the story of the state from the arrival of the first Spanish settlers until the present day. Much of the museum focuses on the colonization period - how the Spanish forces and the native Pueblo peoples interacted (and often fought) with one another. The museum traces the story as the land changes hands multiple times - originally the native peoples, then the Spaniards, then Mexico, and finally the US. The museum faithfully portrays the many sides of the conflict, neither demonizing one side or the other, nor washing over the many injustices. There are also a few rooms on the 20th century, highlighting how New Mexico became a state, the impact of the railroad, and the nuclear research during WWII and the Cold War. These fun exhibitions remind us that New Mexico is constantly evolving - not leaving behind its history, but also not dwelling in the past forever. They offer guided tours every few hours, where a museum volunteer will take you through the colonization portion of the museum and talk about everything. I found this quite informative, but it was also very long (one hour) and dragged quite a bit. If you love history, you'll probably enjoy the tour - but otherwise, consider skipping the guided tour and just exploring the museum on your own. Overall, at $12, I thought the museum was a good value. If you plan on visiting other state-sponsored museums in New Mexico (such as the New Mexico Museum of Art next door), consider purchasing the Culture Pass for $30. If you visit just 3 or more museums, it saves you money. I hope you enjoy your visit and learn something new! read more

Very well done museum but not interactive at all. All you do is read read and read. Not very good for families more for couples but it's fascinating and interesting history. The staff was very nice and friendly which made up for it. read more

Wow, this museum is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside. To go thru the entire museum will take at least 3 hours so plan accordingly. I kind of wish I had known that ahead of time so we didn't spend 1/2 a day on it (we were only in SF for 1 weekend) but once we were inside we didn't want to leave. It was so interesting. The largest exhibit on display while we were there (not sure how often the rotate) was the history of New Mexico. I have never seen such a comprehensive exhibit. I mean, they went from pre-historic times, to an in depth look at Native American cultures, to Spanish explorers and settlers, on to the Texans and Americans and all the border skirmishes, all the way up to modern times with ranchers, farmers, scientists, and military activities in the state. Very, very in-depth. I highly recommend this to someone who is new to the state and wants to get acclimated and learn about their new home. But as a tourist you could skip it unless you have plenty of time and love history. On the plus side, if you are getting overloaded on art, then this is something different to do right in the middle of the plaza. My hubby loved this one! read more

New Mexico History Museum - Museums Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

3.5 stars. This history museum is overall geared towards school outings and is a little shallow and elementary but still worth a go. It's fairly small and will take 1.5-2.5 hours to get through depending on how many of the interactive screens you read though and if you hit all the sections. Overall a shallow dive into a wide breadth of topics. The museum is very darkly lit in some areas, inexplicably. Most interesting stuff currently is on the lowest level of the museum - Harvey Girls and cigar box printing. I also did not realize New Mexico had as much involvement in the Civil War as it did, so I learned something new. read more

A well planned out museum. Way too much to absorb it all in one visit but loads of information

Nice view of history, from the 1600s through nuclear testing after World War II. Also has nice railroad expansion displays. $12 for non resident to enter. read more

Interesting place with a wealth of information. Right in the heart of the plaza . Defiantly support the Natives outside selling crafts etc . read more

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