Click Here: Animals of the Desert, Arrival of Vaccines to the New World, Historic Properties in New Mexico, and More

June 16th, 2020

SANTA FE – Explore the latest online programming from the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), bringing the state’s unique blend of cultures into your home through its museums, historic sites, and cultural institutions.

This week includes three outstanding programs:

A new and exciting educational series of posts have started to appear on the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum Facebook page, featuring animals native to the deserts across the state. These posts include interesting details about each of the the animals mentioned, such as the speed of a road runner, the diet of a horned lizard, and the vertical prowess of a jack rabbit, as well as downloadable activities and videos.

The sixth episode of the podcast “La Hilacha: Word and Memories” features a timely story on how vaccines traveled to the New World in the early 19th century as well as a look at vaccines through the eyes of a boy living in New Mexico. The podcast is a production of the History and Literary Arts Program at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, and new episodes are released every two weeks.

On Friday, June 19, at 7 p.m. the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science will host the 11th performance of the popular virtual concert series Our Fair New Mexico, featuring Albuquerque band Zillaphyst, which can be described as a musical being of the monstrous variety. Watch the concert on the museum’s Facebook page. “Our Fair New Mexico” highlights musicians living in New Mexico performing in some DCA’s most beautiful settings.

Here are other interesting programs from across the Department:  

• In a collaborative project with the Santa Fe Public Library, the Museum of International Folk Art Bilingual Educator Kemely Gomez has recorded folk tales in Spanish for a collection of bilingual story time videos that are now available to the public on YouTube.   

• The Tewa Lodge in Albuquerque was added in 1998 to the National Register of Historic Places due its close association with tourism along Route 66 as well for the way its setting, location, design, and materials reflect early tourist court construction in New Mexico. Read more about this and other properties across the state that have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places on the Historic Preservation Division Facebook page.  

• A new virtual exhibit will open at the New Mexico Museum of Art on June 27. "What’s Inside" is a crowd-sourced exhibit featuring works submitted through an open call to local artists on Instagram using the hashtag #nmawhatsinside.  

More information related to social media and online resources for each division of DCA is available upon request.