Looking for something science-y to do no matter who you are? We have events throughout the year for learners of all ages. Check back often to find out what’s up next.

Travel to Mars

Curious about Mars and if life ever existed on the planet? In our new exhibit, visitors can learn all about the Red Planet and the Los Alamos technologies on board the new Curiosity rover now exploring Mars.
 
The Curiosity rover, the centerpiece of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, has three Los Alamos technologies helping investigate whether Mars ever had an environment capable of supporting life. 

Lab Technology on Mars

In our Mars exhibit, Museum visitors will find display models and information on these Lab technologies:

ChemCam—the rock-zapping laser helps characterize the make-up of Mars rocks and soil.
CheMin—the X-ray diffraction instrument determines the composition of mineral samples collected and dropped into a funnel on the Curiosity rover.
Multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator—the tiny plutonium canisters that provide heat and power sources for the car-sized rover.

Pose with the Rover

Visitors to our Mars exhibit can also learn more about the rover itself. View our nearly life-sized three-dimensional stereo poster of Curiosity, or use your iPhone or iPad to interact with it. Or pose for photos with our life-size image of the rover!
 
The museum’s TechLab has a dozen videos and animations about the Curiosity rover from NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 

Follow the Rover’s Discoveries

The rover and the LANL instruments make new discoveries and take new photos of Mars everyday. You can follow the latest discoveries here:

Mail a postcard from Mars

Download postcard (PDF).

Did you see our ad above the escalators at the Albuquerque Sunport? If not, watch it here on our YouTube channel. This 7-second ad was funded through a partnership with the State of New Mexico Department of Tourism and N2NM.