MUSEUMS

To help reduce the spread of Covid-19 in our community, the Las Cruces Museums are closed to the public until further notice.

Visit cv.nmhealth.org for the most up to date information on COVID-19 in New Mexico.


While we are closed to the public, please check out our Calendar of Events for the new year to see how you can interact with the museums on our virtual platforms.

The Las Cruces Museum System aims to provide a welcoming environment for the curious so they can gain new insights and experience personal and community enrichment. The museums showcase exhibitions on local, national, and global themes to educate and inspire visitors from near and far. Admission is FREE. Our museum system includes:

Senior Couple watching a old Mexican wrestler movie surrounded by luchador mask

BRANIGAN CULTURAL CENTER

The Branigan Cultural Center is dedicated to engaging visitors in the rich heritage of the Southwest and the world-at-large through artistic, cultural and historical exhibitions and programs. Housed in a 1935 Pueblo Revival- style building, it was the first library in Las Cruces.

Gallery with pictures, ceramic vases and a big wooden bench

MUSEUM OF ART

The Museum of Art features juried, invitational, and traveling exhibitions with artwork by nationally and internationally known artists. Through the Studio Program, the Museum offers professional art instruction for youth and adults in drawing, painting, ceramics, and other media.

Little Boy playing at the exhibit

MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE

The Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science, or MoNaS, inspires curiosity about the sciences, facilitates life-long learning, and promotes stewardship of the natural environment of the Chihuahuan Desert and southern New Mexico.

Model railroad train

RAILROAD MUSEUM

The mission of the Railroad Museum is to preserve the heritage of railroading through a series of miniature representations of New Mexico railroads, as well as research and preserve the history of model railroading.

EXHIBITS

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From a Different Lens: One Woman’s Experience in Vietnam, 1967-1968.

October 23- Feb. 6, 2021

Branigan Cultural Center

This exhibit focuses on the life of Las Cruces resident Frances Williams who, in 1967-1968, went to Vietnam for six months to work for the U.S. Army. Williams recorded her experience in a diary and through photographs; these original sources tell the story of one woman’s dramatic and life-changing experience in Vietnam.

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Iniquitous: Trapped in the Room

A Photo Series by Chantelle Yazzie-Martin

Nov. 6 - Jan. 15, 2021

Brannigan Cultural Center

This work represents the process of coming out to a family about gender identity and/or sexual orientation, the experience of rejection, and finding a way to express the raw emotions that follow. The pieces move through different aspects of an Indigenous family unit that is influenced by Western concepts of gender and religion.

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Observations² 

A Portrait of White Sands National Monument

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November 6 - February 6, 2021


Branigan Cultural Center

Observations2: A Portrait of White Sands National Monument was created with a desire to present a portfolio that is unlike the epic, wide expanse depictions that are synonymous with White Sands National Monument. The allure of the dunes and blue skies that seemingly extend forever is inspiring…it can also be intimidating and overwhelming to the mind’s eye. These photographs reflect an introspective and intimate observation of this environment and as a metaphor of our world today.

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Arte Cubano

bronze sculptures in the shape of a nose mounted on a wall

October 13-January 15

Museum of Art

Arte Cubano highlights a universally agreed-upon characteristic of the island’s art: an incredible diversity. Cuban art is so rich in large part because of its diverse cultural blend of African, European, and Latin/Caribbean influences. Add to these traditional roots the revolution of 1959, and Cuban art occupies a unique aesthetic place in the contemporary art world.

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