The Las Cruces Museum of Natural History, founded in the mid-eighties by a passionate and dedicated group of citizen volunteers, became part of the City’s Museum System a few years later. The Museum, located in a small retailing space in a shopping mall, now attracts an average of 150,000 visitors per year.

In 2000, a feasibility study concluded there was considerable public support for expanding the museum, and relocating it downtown in Las Cruces. The new museum will be called the Museum of Nature & Science, or MoNaS. The mission of MoNaS is to…

…inspire curiosity about the sciences, facilitate life-long learning, and promote stewardship of the natural environment of the Chihuahuan Desert and southern New Mexico.

Artist rendering: Suspended projection globe with surrounding exhibits

Artist rendering: Chihuahuan desert exhibits

Future home of the Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science

Future home of the Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science

The new museum will illustrate the ease of living in harmony with our environment, and will place this institution at the forefront of environmental education, sustainability, and stewardship in the Southwest. Visitors will be able to encounter exciting displays on topics such as global processes, astronomy, the Chihuahuan Desert, principles of physical and environmental science, and the Permian Trackways.

MoNaS is scheduled to open November 4, 2012.

For more information please contact:
Will Ticknor
Director of Museums
City of Las Cruces
(575) 541-2296
wticknor@las-cruces.org
http://museums.las-cruces.org