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Telling New Mexico: Stories from Then and Now, the core exhibition of the New Mexico History Museum, sweeps across more than 500 years of stories -- from early Native inhabitants to today's residents -- told through artifacts, films, photographs, computer interactives, oral histories and more. The state's newest museum, it's connected to the state's oldest, the Palace of the Governors. Together, they breath life into the people who made the American West: Native Americans, Spanish colonsits, Mexican traders, Santa Fe Trail riders, fur trappers, outlaws, railroad men, scientists, hippies and artists.

The museum's second floor holds a changing gallery with a rotation of exhibits. The Cowden Cafe offers food, along with free wifi and a lovely downtown Santa Fe view from its outdoor terrace.