Family Activities
Free Things for Families to Do in New Mexico
Check below for listings of free activities in your area! Got questions, or do you have a free community event to share? Send us an email at marketing@cyfd.org.
Get Outside!
Outdoor activities are a healthy, fun way to spend time with your family.
Click here for a list of New Mexico State Parks where you can hike, camp, fish, swim, or picnic. State Park events are listed here.
Click here for a list of National Parks and Monuments in New Mexico. If your family has a fourth grader, your entire family is eligible for a free National Parks pass. Click here to find out more about the Every Kid in a Park program.
Family Free Pass
The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs offers a free FamilyPass that can be checked out at any public library. The FamilyPass gives six people free admission to any of the following activities:
- 7 New Mexico Historic Sites, Statewide
- New Mexico History Museum/Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe
- New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe
- Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe
- Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe
- New Mexico Museum of Space History, Alamogordo
- New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque
- National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque
- New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, Las Cruces
Click here to find out more.
Free and Low-Cost Museums
Albuquerque Museum
Free admission during the following times:
- 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday
- 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Sunday
- 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month
- 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month
Anderson-Aburzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum
Free admission on Sundays 9am-1pm and the first Friday of the month (excluding October). Children 3 and under are always free!
Department of Cultural Affairs Museums/Sites
All of the following are free the first Sunday of every month for New Mexico residents with ID:
- New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, Albuquerque
- National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque — children 16 and under are always free.
- New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe
- New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe
- Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe
- Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe
- Lincoln Historic Site, Lincoln
- Jemez Historic Site, Jemez Springs
- Fort Sumner Historic Site/Bosque Redondo Memorial, Fort Sumner
- Fort Stanton, Capitan
- Fort Selden, Radium Springs
- El Camino Real Historic Trail Site, 35 mi. south of Socorro
- Coronado Historic Site, Bernalillo
Petroglyphs National Monument, Albuquerque
Automobiles and RVs: $1 Weekdays and $2 Weekends
Rio Grande Nature Center, Albuquerque
Admission is $3 per vehicle.
South Broadway Cultural Center, Albuquerque
Free admission every day.
Mesalands Dinosaur Museum and Natural Sciences Laboratory
Adult (12-64) $6.50
Children (5-11) $4.00
Children (under 5) Free
Senior (65 and over) $5.50
Groups of 10 or more $4.50 Adult / $3.00 child
Active Military (ID Required) $5.85 / $3.60 child
Tucumcari Historical Museum
Adult (16-64) $5.00
Children (6-15) $1.00
Children (under 5) Free
Senior (65 and over) $4.00
Bradbury Science Musem
Free admission
Pajarito Environmental Education Center
Free admission
Read Together
Reading books regularly to your young children helps give them a big head start on success in school and is a great way to bond. Finding age-appropriate books is easy and free! Find your local public library.
Many communities across New Mexico are part of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which mails out a free book each month to children from birth to age 5. To find out about availability or to sign up, click here.