Educational Resources

Adobe Strong Teaching Tools!

The New Mexico History Museum Education Department offers extensive resources to help you and your students understand the context of historical events and how they relate to our lives today.

Early Childhood Students

The Hochberg Early Learning Academy

• The Hochberg Early Learning Academy offers museum visits and educational programs to preschoolers and their families.

Elementary, Middle and High School Students

New Mexico Timeline Worksheet and Summaries

• The Historical Timeline Worksheets link students’ interests to specific time periods, people, places, and events in New Mexico history.
• The NM History Summaries give an overview of each historical period in New Mexico.

Teacher Resources

• Teachers Guide to NM History – Expanding the Lens: Exploring Perspectives
  A N.M. Standards based planning document for educators anywhere in the state preparing to teach New Mexico History.
  For Teachers visiting the New Mexico History Museum (PDF)
  For Teachers NOT visiting the Museum, to use in their classrooms (PDF)
• New Mexico Social Studies and English Language Arts Common Core State Standards
  This page contains the New Mexico Adopted Content Standards for Social Studies and English Language Arts.
• Exploring New Mexico: A Student’s Guide to the Land of Enchantment (PDF) (For all ages)
  A colorful guide to exploring fun facts about New Mexico.
• National History Day (PDF) (For 6th–12th graders)
  A year-long academic program and competition for students studying historical topics. Learn more about the NMHM and NHD Collaboration (PDF).

Additional Activities and Lessons

• Demonstrations of Learning
  Accommodate many different learning styles by giving students creative options to demonstrate their learning. We are developing resources to assist teachers in guiding students through projects that require research on an historical event, period or figure and give directions on how to do the following creative projects:
• Accordion Book (PDF) (For 4th–12th graders) | Spanish version (PDF)
  A two-sided book that allows different perspectives on each side.
• Pop-up Book (PDF) (For 3rd–12th graders)
  A short book that includes a timeline and elements that pop up.
• “I Am” Poetry Exercise (PDF) (For 4th–12th graders)
  A worksheet that celebrates students’ cultural identities.
• Historical Holiday Ornaments (PDF)
  Students conduct research and transfer their findings onto ornaments that are sent to the NMHM and hung on our holiday trees in December.
• Through the Lens Lesson (PDF) (For K–12 graders)
  This lesson is a great way to explore the New Mexico History Museum’s Palace of the Governors Photo Archives.
• Historic Maps as Teaching Tools (PDF) (For 5th–8th graders)
  Learn about New Mexico history by using historic maps.

Interactives and Videos

• Segesser Hides (For 4th–12th graders)
  A virtual tour of the earliest known depiction of colonial times in the United States.
• Shifting Boundaries (For 7th–12th graders)
  An interactive exploration of the First Peoples Period through the Mexican Period, with great maps!
• Making History Virtual Activities (For all ages)
  Videos on how to create projects inspired by New Mexico’s history and culture.
• Moments in Time (For 4th–12th graders)
  The New Mexico History Museum and KNME present short pieces about New Mexico's history.

All Learners!

The New Mexico History Museum’s Fray Angélico Chávez Library holds some of the most important historical documents in the United States, including an original 1681 edition of the Recopilación de Leyes de las Indias (The Laws of the Indies) along with many other primary resources that illustrate the complex history of North America. The Palace of the Governors Photo Archives holds over 1 million photographs that visually document the story of the United States, and New Mexico, in particular beginning after the U.S. occupation of México to the present.

Fray Angélico Chávez History Library

Materials are available for use by the public in the library’s reading room by appointment. Guidance on how best to use the library can be found under Research. You may also want to review information about our on-site Library Collections that include books, manuscripts, maps, periodicals, microfilm, and clipping files. Online resources are viewable in our Digital Collections. The library may be contacted via phone: (505) 476-5090 or email: historylibrary@dca.nm.gov.

Palace of the Governors Photo Archives

Photos from New Mexico can be accessed online or in person with an appointment. High-quality digital scans and prints may be ordered for display, publication, or multimedia projects. The Palace of the Governors Photo Archives may be contacted via phone: (505) 476-5200 or email: photoarchives@dca.nm.gov.