The Museum of Nature & Science in Las Cruces has a mission to encourage stewardship of the nature of the Chihuahuan Desert and southern New Mexico and to inspire life-long learning and curiosity about the sciences. The museum has three permanent exhibits: Permian Trackways, Desert Life, and Light & Space. The Permian Trackways showcases two fascinating fossil trackways from the Permian Period, a cast of a dimetrodon, touchable trace fossils, and interactive media programs on the featured trackways.

The Desert Life presents five habitats of the Chihuahuan Desert: bajadas, desert plains, desert rivers, sky islands, and desert grasslands. There are 29 live animals, taxidermied birds and desert mammals, and pictures and photos of the most important plant species. The Light & Space exhibit features a four-foot digital globe, a telescope, a light experimenting table, images of the universe from Space Science Institute, a model of the solar system, and an interactive exhibit on stars.

411 N Downtown Mall, Las Cruces, NM 88001, Phone: 575-522-3120

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