1.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Albuquerque is the most populous city in the U. S. state of New Mexico. The high-altitude city serves as the county seat of Bernalillo County, the city population is 557,169 as of the July 1,2014 population estimate from the United States Census Bureau, and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U. S. The Albuquerque metropolitan statistical area has a population of 907,301 according to the United States Census Bureaus most recently available estimate for 2015, Albuquerque is the 60th-largest United States metropolitan area. The Sandia Mountains run along the side of Albuquerque. Albuquerque is also the home of the International Balloon Fiesta, the worlds largest such gathering of hot-air balloons from around the globe, the event takes place during the first week of October. Albuquerque was named in honor of Francisco, Duke of Alburquerque, the growing village soon to become Albuquerque was named by provincial governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés. Franciscos title referred to the Spanish town of Alburquerque, in the Spanish province of Badajoz, the name has two theories of origin which denote either Latin or Arabic roots. The first of which derived from the Latin albus quercus meaning white oak and this name was probably in reference to the prevalence of cork oaks in the region, which have a white wood when the bark is removed. Alburquerque is still a center of the Spanish cork industry, another theory suggests that it may come from the Arabic Abu al-Qurq, which means father of the cork. The change was also in due to the fact that citizens found the original name difficult to pronounce. Western folklore offers a different explanation, tracing the name Albuquerque to the Galician word albaricoque, the apricot was brought to New Mexico by Spanish settlers, possibly as early as 1743. As the story goes, the settlement was established near an apricot tree, as frontiersmen were unable to correctly pronounce the Galician word, it became corrupted to Albuquerque. The Tanoan and Keres peoples had lived along the Rio Grande for centuries before European settlers arrived in what is now Albuquerque, Albuquerque was founded in 1706 as the Spanish colonial outpost of Villa de Alburquerque. Present-day Albuquerque retains much of its historical Spanish cultural heritage, Albuquerque was a farming community and strategically located military outpost along the Camino Real. The town was also the center of the West. Spain established a presidio in Albuquerque in 1706, after 1821, Mexico also had a military garrison there. The town of Alburquerque was built in the traditional Spanish village pattern, a plaza surrounded by government buildings, homes. This central plaza area has preserved and is open to the public as a museum, cultural area
2.
New Mexico
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New Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. It was admitted to the Union as the 47th state on January 6,1912 and it is usually considered one of the Mountain States. New Mexico is fifth by area, the 36th-most populous, inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years before European exploration, New Mexico was colonized by the Spanish in 1598 Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain. Later, it was part of independent Mexico before becoming a U. S. territory and eventually a U. S. state as a result of the Mexican–American War. Among U. S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics, the major Native American nations in the state are Navajo, Pueblo, and Apache peoples. The demography and culture of the state are shaped by these strong Hispanic and Native American influences and its scarlet and gold colors are taken from the royal standards of Spain, along with the ancient sun symbol of the Zia, a Pueblo-related tribe. New Mexico, or Nuevo México in Spanish, is incorrectly believed to have taken its name from the nation of Mexico. The name simply stuck, even though the area had no connection to Mexico or the Mexica Indian tribes, Mexico, formerly a part of New Spain, adopted its name centuries later in 1821, after winning independence from Spanish rule. New Mexico was a part of the independent Mexican Empire and Federal Republic of Mexico for 27 years,1821 through 1848, New Mexico and Mexico developed as neighboring Spanish-speaking communities under Spanish rule, with relatively independent histories. The states total area is 121,412 square miles, the eastern border of New Mexico lies along 103° W longitude with the state of Oklahoma, and 2.2 miles west of 103° W longitude with Texas. On the southern border, Texas makes up the eastern two-thirds, while the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora make up the western third, the western border with Arizona runs along the 109°03 W longitude. The southwestern corner of the state is known as the Bootheel, the 37° N latitude parallel forms the northern boundary with Colorado. The states New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together at the Four Corners in the corner of New Mexico. New Mexico, although a state, has very little water. Its surface water area is about 250 square miles, the New Mexican landscape ranges from wide, rose-colored deserts to broken mesas to high, snow-capped peaks. Despite New Mexicos arid image, heavily forested mountain wildernesses cover a significant portion of the state, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southernmost part of the Rocky Mountains, run roughly north-south along the east side of the Rio Grande in the rugged, pastoral north. The most important of New Mexicos rivers are the Rio Grande, Pecos, Canadian, San Juan, the Rio Grande is tied for the fourth-longest river in the United States. Tourists visiting these sites bring significant money to the state, other areas of geographical and scenic interest include Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument and the Gila Wilderness in the southwest of the state
3.
Adobe
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Adobe is a building material made from earth and often organic material. Adobe is among the earliest building materials, and is used throughout the world, modern methods of construction allow the pouring of whole adobe walls that are reinforced with steel. In dry climates, adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for some of the oldest existing buildings in the world. Adobe buildings offer significant advantages due to their greater thermal mass, cases where adobe structures were widely damaged during earthquakes include the 1976 Guatemala earthquake, the 2003 Bam earthquake and the 2010 Chile earthquake. Puebloan peoples built their structures with handfuls or basketfuls of adobe. Adobe bricks were used in Spain from the Late Bronze and Iron Ages and its wide use can be attributed to its simplicity of design and manufacture, and economics. A distinction is made between the smaller adobes, which are about the size of ordinary baked bricks, and the larger adobines. The word adobe /əˈdoʊbiː/ has existed for around 4000 years with little change in either pronunciation or meaning. The word can be traced from the Middle Egyptian word ɟbt mudbrick, Middle Egyptian evolved into Late Egyptian, Demotic or pre-Coptic, and finally to Coptic, where it appeared as τωωβε tōʾpə. This was borrowed into Arabic as الطوب aṭ-ṭawbu or aṭ-ṭūbu, with the definite article al- attached, tuba, English borrowed the word from Spanish in the early 18th century. In more modern English usage, the adobe has come to include a style of architecture popular in the desert climates of North America. An adobe brick is a material made of earth mixed with water. The soil composition typically contains sand, silt and clay, straw is useful in binding the brick together and allowing the brick to dry evenly, thereby preventing cracking due to uneven shrinkage rates through the brick. The most desirable soil texture for producing the mud of adobe is 15% clay, 10–30% silt, another source quotes 15–25% clay and the remainder sand and coarser particles up to cobbles 50 to 250 mm with no deleterious effect. Modern adobe is stabilized with either emulsified asphalt or Portland cement up to 10% by weight, no more than half the clay content should be expansive clays with the remainder non-expansive illite or kaolinite. Too much expansive clay results in uneven drying through the resulting in cracking. Typically the soils of the Southwest United States, where construction is in use, are an adequate composition. Adobe walls are bearing, i. e. they carry their own weight into the foundation rather than by another structure
4.
San Felipe de Neri Church
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San Felipe de Neri Church is a historic Catholic church located on the north side of Old Town Plaza in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Built in 1793, it is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city, originally, Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdez named the church San Francisco Xavier, after the Viceroy of New Spain. Shortly afterward, The Duke of Albuquerque changed the name to San Felipe, San Felipe de Neri was established in 1706 under the direction of Fray Manuel Moreno and initially stood to the northwest of the Plaza. The original building was completed in 1719, the original church building collapsed in 1792 after a heavy rain and was replaced by the current structure the following year. The towers were added in 1861, a school was constructed in 1878. Today the church complex is undergoing extensive renovations inside and out, official website American Southwest, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
5.
Albuquerque Museum of Art and History
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The Albuquerque Museum, formerly known as the The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico in Old Town Albuquerque. The Albuquerque Museum is dedicated to preserving the art of the American Southwest and the history of Albuquerque, the museum also contributes significantly to the cultural and educational programs in the city of Albuquerque. The museum was first opened as the Museum of Albuquerque in 1967, the collection outgrew the available space in the terminal, and the current location was built in 1979. The building was designed by Antoine Predock and was expanded in 2005. The museums permanent exhibits are dedicated to art in New Mexico, and the history of Albuquerque include early maps, conquistador armor, weavings, the museum also hosts changing exhibits, a massive photo archive, art galleries, and maintains an outdoor sculpture garden on the grounds. The house features a recreation of a 19th-century rancho, including a chapel, a central plazuela. New Mexico Office of Cultural Affairs, enchanted Lifeways, The History, Museums, Arts & Festivals of New Mexico. Official website Information about The Albuquerque Museum A Virtual Tour of the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, Albuquerque, NM
6.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
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The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science is a natural history and science museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico near Old Town Albuquerque. The Museum was founded in 1986, the Museums permanent exhibit halls illustrate a journey through time, covering the birth of the Universe to the Ice Age. The Jurassic Super Giants exhibit features the skeletons of Seismosaurus, Saurophaganax, Stegosaurus. In the museums atrium is the skeleton of Stan, a Tyrannosaurus rex measuring forty feet in length and twelve feet in height, bronze statues of two dinosaurs, a Pentaceratops named Spike and an Albertosaurus named Alberta, stand at the entrance. Many dinosaur fossils have found in New Mexico, and a few of the ones on display in the museum are only known from New Mexico. The Museum also houses changing exhibits, a cafe, a store, and the Lockheed Martin DynaTheater
7.
Explora (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
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Explora is a science center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, located near Old Town Albuquerque. Its name is the form of the Spanish language verb explorar. The museum employs a hands-on, inquiry-based learning approach to science, math, the museum has 20,000 square feet of exhibit space on two floors, which contain over 250 interactive exhibits that cover a broad range of science, technology and art. Notable exhibits include a laminar flow fountain, an experiment bar, an arts and crafts area, in addition to the exhibits, the building houses a performance theater, gift store, educational program areas, the in-house exhibit workshop and staff offices. Explora is a member of the Association of Science-Technology Centers, Explora, along with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, hosted the ASTC2013 Conference in Albuquerque. Creating opportunities for discovery and the joy of lifelong learning through interactive experiences in science, technology. Says, In 1986, Explora and the New Mexico Academy of Sciences were joined by HealthQuest, the tax was approved in 1987, and construction plans were drawn up by Mahlman Studio Architecture. Explora Science Center opened in Downtown Albuquerque’s First Plaza Galleria in 1993, the museum moved to the Sheraton Old Town, and then to Winrock Center. In 1995, Explora merged with the Albuquerque Children’s Museum and became Explora Science Center, Explora opened its current location in December 2003. Financial support comes from sources, including earned income, public dollars from the city and the state. The Alibi named Explora Best Recreational Program for Kids, the magazine called Explora an awesomely fun hands-on science center that gets kids excited about things like electricity, refracted light and systems in motion. In conjunction with the Pacific Science Center, Explora received the 2010 Shafer Leading Edge Award for Visitor Experiences from ASTC, the award recognized the National Science Foundation-funded program, Portal to the Public. ASTC describes PoP as bringing local scientists onto the science center floor to communicate their research through conversations, in November 2010, Explora was named a recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The medal recognizes museums and libraries that excel in community involvement, exploras Executive Director, Patrick Lopez, received the award in a ceremony at the White House on December 17,2010
8.
Science museum
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A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery. Modern trends in museology have broadened the range of subject matter, many if not most modern science museums — which increasingly refer to themselves as science centers or discovery centers — also emphasize technology, and are therefore also technology museums. The mission statements of science centers and modern museums vary, but they are united in being places that make science accessible and they are an integral and dynamic part of the learning environment, promoting exploration from the first Eureka. As early as the Renaissance, many aristocrats collected curiosities for display to their family, universities and particularly medical schools also maintained study collections of specimens for their students. Scientists and collectors displayed their finds in private cabinets of curiosities, such collections were the predecessors of modern natural history museums. The first purpose-built museum covering natural philosophy and open to the public from 1683 was the original Ashmolean museum in Oxford, the first dedicated science museum was the Museo de Ciencias Naturales, in Madrid, Spain. Opened in 1752, it almost disappeared during the Franco regime, the Utrecht University Museum, among others, still displays an extensive collection of 18th-century animal and human rarities in its original setting. Another line in the genealogy of science museums came during the Industrial Revolution, for example, the Great Exhibition in The Crystal Palace eventually gave rise to Londons Science Museum. In America, various Natural History Societies established collections in the early 19th century, notable was the early New England Museum of Natural History, which opened in Boston in 1864. The Academy of Science of Saint Louis was founded in 1856 as the first scientific organization west of the Mississippi, the modern interactive science museum appears to have been pioneered by Munich’s Deutsches Museum in the early 20th century. This museum had moving exhibits where visitors were encouraged to push buttons, the concept was taken to the US by Julius Rosenwald, chairman of Sears, Roebuck and Company, who visited the Deutsches Museum with his young son in 1911. He was so-captivated by the experience that he decided to build a museum in his home town. Chicagos Museum of Science and Industry opened in phases between 1933 and 1940, in 1959 the Museum of Science and Natural History was formally created by the Academy of Science of Saint Louis, featuring many interactive science and history exhibits. In August 1969, Frank Oppenheimer dedicated his new Exploratorium in San Francisco almost completely to interactive science exhibits, the Exploratorium published the details of their own exhibits in Cookbooks that served as an inspiration to many other museums around the world. Opened in September 1969, the Ontario Science Centre continued the trend of featuring interactive exhibits rather than static displays, in 1973, the first Omnimax theater opened as the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center in San Diegos Balboa Park, the tilted-dome Space Theater doubled as a planetarium. The Science Center was an Exploratorium-style museum included as a part of the complex
9.
Luminaria
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A luminaria or farolito is a small paper lantern which is of significance in the US state of New Mexico in southwest United States at Christmas time, especially on Christmas Eve. These paper lanterns have to some extent replaced the older tradition of the vigil fire luminaria with which they became confused. Yet another form of luminaria, a torch or large candle, is carried by the leader of the procession of Las Posadas. Traditional Christmas Eve luminarias are said to originate from Spaniard merchants and they were impressed with the Paper lanterns from the Chinese culture and decided to make their own version when they returned to New Spain, particularly during the Christmas season. They decided to use more hearty materials, traditionally, luminarias are made from brown paper bags weighted down with sand and illuminated from within by a lit candle. These are typically arranged in rows to create large and elaborate displays, the hope among Roman Catholics is that the lights will guide the spirit of the Christ child to ones home. In recent times they are seen more as a secular decoration and these are beginning to gain popularity in other parts of the United States. Santa Fe and Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico, are known for their impressive Christmas Eve farolito displays. Farolito displays are common throughout New Mexico, and most communities in New Mexico have farolitos in prominent areas such as streets or parks. Residents often line their yards, fences, sidewalks, and roofs with farolitos, similar traditions can now also be found in many other parts of the nation. In West Valley City, Utah, luminarias are used to light the path during the Walk with Santa held the first Monday of December every year, the display features over 300 luminarias. The American Cancer Societys Relay for Life fundraising events which are all over the US feature luminaria ceremonies. Luminarias are placed around the track and some relay events spell out HOPE in stadium stands with luminarias, after the 2008 city hall shooting in Kirkwood, Missouri, residents lined the streets with luminarias to honor the victims of the shooting. The American Foundation for Suicide Preventions Out of the Darkness Overnight uses luminarias at the end of the walk to memorialize those lost to suicide for survivors. San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico, organizes a large annual farolito display, luminarias have also become popular in California in some cities. The Boy Scout Troops and Albuquerque Youth Symphony sell them around Christmas time as another form of fundraising, in Galena, Ill. luminarias line the streets of the town one night in December for their annual Night of Luminaria. Each year for the past 22 years community members have placed luminaria along the path beside Lake Washington north of Seward Park and they place as many as 1800 along a three-mile stretch of the path. The placement of the luminaria are timed to coincide with the annual Christmas Ships festival organized by Argosy Cruises, in Midlothian, Ill. luminaria sets are sold to raise money for the local food pantries
Media related to Old Town Albuquerque at Wikimedia Commons
