It’s the news you’ve all been waiting for: our museum is reopening to the public on Saturday, April 4! Enjoy new features like our redesigned box office and our expanded gift shop, alongside familiar favorites like the Evolator and Bella, our roaring animatronic Bisti Beast. 

Since we closed in August, our construction team has been hard at work making sure our museum looks better than ever. Here are a few of the new features visitors can expect once we reopen:

• A redesigned entrance and box office that will streamline the ticket-buying process for visitors and museum membership alike.

• An expanded gift shop that will feature new offerings for all ages.

• New skylights that bring natural light into the atrium.

• Refreshed permanent exhibition halls featuring updated science content focused on New Mexico’s dynamic geology and biology.

• A rebuilt sewer line to support the museum’s long-term growth and operations.

In addition to these upgrades, the museum will debut a new traveling exhibition, Animal Armor: The Evolution of Armor in Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals, on the museum’s first floor. Developed by Colorado-based Gaston Design Inc., Animal Armor explores how animals have evolved defensive armor to protect themselves from predators and competition over the last 500 million years.

We’ll also be hosting a celebration at the museum on the big day, and you’re all invited! Starting at 10:00 a.m., enjoy a block party, ribbon-cutting ceremony, and a chance to explore the museum’s new amenities and familiar attractions. Shows at the Planetarium, Powered by Meta and the Verus Research DynaTheater will be included with museum admission throughout the weekend.