Calendar of Events

Upcoming Events

Rafael Chacón, New Mexico Statesman
Sunday, august 8, 2010 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm, PLAZA ILFELD BALLROOM
Enrique LaMadrid portrays Rafael Chacón, witness to and participant in the most significant events in the formation of modern New Mexico. Sponsored in part by the New Mexico Humanities Council.

Noon time discussion with Hilario Rubio
thursday, august 12, 2010 12:00 noon TO 1:00 PM
Hialrio Rubio is the Acequia Liaison Officer for the Office of the State Engineer. He will lead a discussion on historic and current land grant issues.

Current Exhibits

In addition to the permanent exhibit, the Museum features temporary exhibits about topical subjects.

Git Fer Vegas, Cowboy!
October 23, 2009 through December 2010
In the early 20th century, the Las Vegas Cowboys’ Reunions were one of the biggest annual cowboy gatherings this side of the Mississippi. This exhibit documents how the event engaged all segments of the community, adapted over time, and answers the question “Why Las Vegas?”

Scrapbooking Las Vegas
May 2009 through september 2010
A scrapbook is more than a collection of papers. Each entry captures a particular moment in time — a link that connects us to the past and helps to anchor us to the present. In these images schoolhouse friendships and the excitement of commencement are preserved, service is honored and camaraderie is celebrated. Some images record milestone events. Others are keepsakes of the everyday.

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Educational Activities

Household Chores in the Old West
Grades K-4
Every child knows about chores, work, or school but do they know how things were done in the past? This activity gives students a chance to experience how to wash clothes with no electricity, and how butter was made when there wasn’t a store nearby. This activity discusses why chores were different, and how they compare to today.

Las Vegas Alive!
Grades 5 – 12 (and adults or families)
Las Vegas Alive! is a pen and paper role-playing game. It allows players to become a character from the past, go on quests, meet their community, and join together to complete a campaign. This activity helps students learn about New Mexico history through role-playing, acting and “pretend”.

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Continuing Exhibits

The story of Las Vegas is a tale of travel routes, the natural environment, and the community’s dueling traits of adaptation and resistance. Our permanent exhibit includes:

La Casita Material culture is a good indicator of the larger environment. This typical northern New Mexico home shows the continuity and adaptation of traditional materials and acceptance of new technologies and ideas in its rooms that date from 1865, 1880 and 1935.

The Duncan Opera House For decades, Las Vegas was one of the major commercial and cultural stops along the Santa Fe Trail and then the Atcheson, Topeka and Santa Fe railway. At one point, Las Vegas could boast four opera houses. The Duncan was the most famous and longest lived.

Rolling along the Santa Fe Trail Long after the Trail ceased to be a major travel route, it remained a romantic image in the minds of Americans. The Trail, or its memory, found its way into movies, songs, books, tours and trade goods. Many portrayals were less than accurate, but the public loved them anyway.

Theodore Roosevelt, the Rough Riders, and New Mexico In 1898, Theodore Roosevelt was granted his wish of raising a volunteer regiment from the nation’s frontier of Indian and Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico Territories. The enlistees followed Roosevelt into the battles of Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Although the regiment was commissioned for only 150 days, the personal ties remained for decades, renewed at reunions of the regiment, many held in Las Vegas.