Four blocks north and east of the Old Town plaza, this lively museum offers a ramble through geologic time, from the formation of the universe to modern times. Interactive exhibits place visitors in the middle of a live volcano and an Ice Age cave. F..

Exhibits trace the development of atomic energy and weaponry, beginning with 4C BC Greek philosopher Democritus, who first proposed the existence of tiny particles as fundamental building blocks. There are replicas of Fat Man and Little Boy, nickname..

The evolution of the Rio Grande valley, from pre-Columbian tribes through Coronado to the present, is chronicled in the fine Four Centuries exhibit at this Old Town museum. An extensive collection of Spanish Colonial artifacts includes religious tape..

The arts of New Mexico's 19 Pueblo communities are exhibited at this important nonprofit center a mile from Old Town. Modeled after 9C Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, this is the one place to get an overview of cultures as pr..

Some 150 shops and galleries face hidden gardens and cobbled walkways around a quiet, tree-shaded 18C plaza. The modern city has grown from this traditional central core. Today, restored adobes share the plaza with Pueblo Revival architecture, some s..

More than 20,000 petroglyphs, scratched or chipped into basalt along a 17mi lava escarpment beneath five ancient volcanoes, chronicle the lives of countless Native American generations. The carvings-human, animal and ceremonial forms-are found in con..

The world's longest jig-back aerial tramway covers 2.7mi from the northeastern city limits to 10,678ft Sandia Crest. Climbing from urban desert to alpine terrain in just 15min, the tram affords panoramic views of 11,000sq mi, across the entire Albuqu..

Over 24,000 students attend the main campus of this state institution, 2mi east of Old Town. Though founded in 1889, most of UNM's Pueblo Revival-style buildings were designed by architect John Gaw Meem in the 1930s and 40s. Exhibits at the venerable..

Rising south of downtown like a miniature Mayan pyramid, this impressive complex combines a visual-arts museum with a library, genealogy center, restaurant, meeting areas and other facilities. Museum exhibits, rotating every 3-6 months, focus on Hisp..

Sixty acres of riverside cottonwood bosque are home to more than 1,000 animals of various species. Especially strong in regional fauna, the zoo includes a New Mexico prairie ecosystem; under construction is a habitat for Endangered Species of the Sou..

A 9min film on the Rio Grande biosystem, from source to mouth, introduces the aquarium-which focuses on Gulf of Mexico habitats, from salt marsh to coral reef and a shark-riddled open ocean. Highlighting the botanic garden are twin climate-controlled..

Ensconced in 270 acres of cottonwood bosque and riparian wetlands, this state park serves an environmental education function. The Riverwalk Trail (1mi) and the Bosque Loop Trail (.8mi) depart from a visitor center whose displays focus on the ecology..