New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs

UPDATED MATERIAL: Experience New Mexico’s Museums, Historic Sites, and Cultural Institutions from Home

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 03, 2020

MEDIA CONTACT


The NM Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) continues to keep New Mexicans connected with state museums, historic sites, and cultural institutions while they are temporarily closed due to public health concerns related to COVID-19. It is the mission of DCA to continue celebrating the cultural integrity and diversity of our state.

Last week DCA provided constituents with online tools which will allow access to its divisions from computers and mobile devices. The following is an updated collection of online resources currently available for the public:

New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage MuseumThe New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum would like to share your pictures and stories that show you and/or your ancestors who grew their own food. Send us anywhere between one and three photos of your family/ancestors and four or five sentences telling us about you and your family, where they farmed or ranched, and what they raised. We’ll post these occasionally. Email your photos and words to frhm@state.nm.us. Please make sure there are no copyright restrictions on the photos.​ The museum also has online exhibitions, resources, and other educational materials to enjoy while at home. There is an online library as well. Follow the links for the Farm & Ranch FacebookTwitter and YouTube.

Historic Preservation Division: HPD will be using platforms like Facebook to post content about recent listings in the State and National registers, upcoming events like Preservation Month, and information about historic resources, including interesting posts about archaeology, state, and national parks, preservation tax credit projects, and local preservation efforts. Division staff recently started a series called “This Week in New Mexico History” to focus on listed properties throughout the state. There is also a YouTube Channel to enjoy.

Museum of Indian Arts and CultureMIAC is continuing its mission of serving the public with artistic and cultural understanding. The Museum will be featuring various objects from exhibitions via social media and its website for the public to enjoy. There is also a vast research & collections page to access from home and an online library and other curricula to keep students busy. The museum also encourages individuals to view the Museum’s Vimeo, which highlights the Native Youth Film Camp. These videos help foster the voices of young Native filmmakers, giving them a glimpse into work in the film industry. Follow the links for our Facebook, and YouTube.

Museum of International Folk ArtMOIFA is in the process of translating lesson plans into Spanish to post on the museum’s website, as well as producing bilingual videos of hands-on projects and gallery tours. The museum has also been hard at work assembling folk art kits for students in the Santa Fe Public Schools. These will be handed out at various lunch pick-up locations throughout the city. MOIFA also has a large online collection to enjoy from home. The online collection features more than 130,000 objects from over 100 countries. Also available are online lesson plans to help keep students busy while at home. Follow the links for MOIFA’s FacebookTwitter, and YouTube.

National Hispanic Cultural CenterNHCC is starting an online series exploring what the museum staff collects in their own homes, posts to keep people connected to recurring programs such as Happy Arte Hour (HAH) and Vamos al Museo, and artist interviews from the NHCC YouTube channel. NHCC online services includes an online collection and other social media platforms. Videos feature a variety of resources as well, including interviews with artists, performances, lectures, and fun mashups of footage from a variety of events. There is also a Google arts and culture page that features a variety of content about the performing arts, the Torreon, and other exhibits. NHCC is developing a Latinx book blog review. The Performing Arts department will be rolling out a campaign targeted specifically to their Circo Latino students with media content, challenges, and at-home activities through the Circo Latino Facebook page as well as the NHCC Facebook page. Follow the links for NHCC’s Facebook, and YouTube.

New Mexico ArtsNMA has created a survey to collect information from artists and arts organizations about their transition to virtual or alternative programming. This information is useful for us as NMA works to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the arts in New Mexico. NMA also plans to share this wealth of alternative programming with the public by highlighting efforts on our website and social media. NMA is using online and social media platforms to continue serving artists, arts organizations and communities across New Mexico. Follow our Facebook and Instagram as NMA continues ongoing social media campaigns; highlight the creative responses in online arts programming; and share local, regional and national arts-related news, resources and artist opportunities. Please be sure to also follow the New Mexico Music Commission Facebook page and website, or the New Mexico Poetry Out Loud Facebook page, New Mexico Arts and the Military Facebook page as well as the NMA Vimeo page. NMA has created a page for COVID-19 response and resources for artists and arts organizations.

New Mexico Historic Sites: Historic Sites has completed the groundwork for launching its “Virtual Classroom” series through the Historic Sites website and social media channels (primarily Facebook and Instagram). The program consists of a pre-lesson packet available through a link on the Virtual Classroom landing page; activities designed for K-4th grades, 5th-8th grades, and 9th-12th grades; and a pre-recorded video lesson led by a professional interpretive staff member available through the HSD websiteYouTube, and Facebook.

New Mexico History MuseumEnjoy seasonally-related content currently scheduled through August 2020. Additionally, content related to “This Day in History” from the Palace of the Governors is scheduled to post when available. The museum also has various social media campaigns, including a week-long series on historic fashion in New Mexico. Follow the links for our NMHM  FacebookTwitter, and YouTube.

New Mexico Museum of ArtMOA has invited New Mexico artists to participate in an online exhibition. Artists can post their work to Instagram with the hashtag #nmavirtualexhibit for a chance to be featured in an online exhibit on our social media platforms. The museum also has content to keep the whole family engaged through multiple online resources, including the Searchable Art Museum (SAM), archives, videos, and an online library. Docents will feature art from SAM online to engage constituents with conversation about the pieces. Visit the Rocky Mountain Online Archive to find out more about the MOA’s archives. The Museum’s blog offers additional reading. Follow the links for MOA Facebook, and YouTube.

New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science: MNHS has online exhibitions, resources, and other educational material to enjoy while at home. The museum has plenty of activities that you can find here. MNHS will feature its popular Story Time digitally, along with an activity to keep children and families in the science spirit. An online tour of the Tiny Titans, Dinosaur Eggs and Babies exhibit is available on the MNHS website. Follow the links for MNHS TwitterFacebook, and YouTube.

New Mexico Museum of Space HistorySpace has online exhibitions, resources, and other educational material to enjoy while at home. Follow the links for the museum’s Facebook, or YouTube.

New Mexico State LibraryThe State Library continues to provide books by mail, books for the blind, and interlibrary loan. The State Library has had an increase in reference questions.  Intake and cataloging of digital and physical state and federal documents is ongoing.  NMSL will continue to provide online learning services through El Portal. This includes the BrainFuse platform, which provides live online tutoring and homework help in both English and Spanish, along with access to quizzes, lessons, and standardized tests for all ages. The public can always access the Library’s catalog online. NMSL hosts an open web meeting for librarians as well as brief, informational workshops which can be accessed on the website. The Library for the Blind is still operating, as well as books by mail. Many of the public libraries in the state have eBook databases patrons can access from home. Follow the links for NMSL’s Facebook, and YouTube.

Office of Archaeological Services: Learn how archaeologists use experimentation to discover material from the past and how bows and arrows and other objects are made on the OAS educational resources and YouTube page. Activity packets that combine creative archaeological explorations with critical thinking skills can be found on the at-home resources page. Activity packets that combine creative archaeological explorations with critical thinking skills can be found here

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


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