Museum

WNMU Museum

Founded in 1974, the university museum is located in historic Fleming Hall. Built between 1916 and 1917 to house the gymnasium and science department for the Normal School, the building now serves as the home of the NAN Ranch Collection- the largest and most complete collection of Mimbres artifacts in existence from a single precontact Mimbres site. In addition, the museum exhibits and houses numerous other historic and precontact collections. This includes the Eisele Collection of Pottery and Artifacts, Campus Collections of photographs and memorabilia, the Back Collection of San Ildefonso pottery, O.C. Hinman historic photograph collection, and the US Senator Jeff Bingaman Memorabilia Collection.

The museum strives to advance the understanding of the diverse cultural and artistic heritages of Southwest New Mexico through research, exhibition, and interpretation. Tours are available for various school and civic groups focusing on US Southwest archaeology. A research space and library are available for both students and visiting scholars. The museum also offers hands-on tables featuring various teaching collections of Southwest New Mexico pottery and artifacts.

The museum is open Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday - Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Museum closures follow university holidays. Admission is free. For more information visit the museum’s website, https://museum.wnmu.edu/ or call (575) 538-6386.