Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens

Charming gardens wander the perimeter of the museum; plants are clearly labeled and the volunteers we met told us they strive for a natural garden, meaning they leave debris over winter to protect insects and their eggs. Even in February we spotted blooms. The museum houses rotating exhibits on the lower level and permanent exhibits upstairs. The student at the desk offered us a warm greeting and clear directions. Downstairs we learned about the gardens and native plants; and appreciated an exhibit about the stories of local immigrants and advocacy groups. Upstairs we learned some of the history of the area, appreciated various artifacts, and admired the collection of taxidermy birds. This is a university museum that does what it says it will, and with a free admission no one should complain. Parking was easy to spot and the attendant at the entrance gave us a three hour pass.

While visiting El Paso we went to UTEP because we love the architecture and found the museum. It is a well thought out and carefully maintained exhibit of all things Texas. The duck exhibit was interesting as was the mineral part. Who knew so many minerals in Texas. We really enjoyed the visit and recommend it as a lesson and a way to cool off.

This museum is located on the University of Texas at El Paso Campus. The campus itself is beautiful. Before you go into the museum you can see some of the native plants and cacti. Some of the flowers on the cacti were blooming, but once they really get going they will be absolutely gorgeous. Once inside the museum you will have a gallery on immigration and a gallery on mallards. Upstairs you'll find pre historic animals, fossils, and minerals. It's a small but mighty museum and we learned a lot. Definitely worth checking out, and I'm glad we made the time for it!

The Centennial Museum is located in the University of Texas El Paso. The first floor has the art gallery of the Mexican crisis while the other section has an exhibit of water scarcity and conservation. The second floor has exhibits on gems, fossils, Mesoamerica & taxidermy on relevant animals. Best of all, it's FREE to the public.

The Centennial Museum has permanent exhibits focusing on the natural and cultural history of the Chihuahuan desert. The museum is free, but it's a bit outdated. When we visited, they had two temporary exhibits: "Rations, Rights, and Rivets: Experiencing World War II in El Paso" and "Where the World Met the Border: El Paso's First Ward." But the highlight of the museum? It's definitely the Lhakhang Cultural Exhibit just across the street from the museum building! Open every Wednesday from 11 am to 1 pm and the first Sunday of each month from 1 to 3 pm, the Lhakhang is a hand-carved Bhutanese cultural artifact given to UTEP by the Kingdom of Bhutan. It's beautiful and the volunteer docent (a UTEP grad) explained so much about the history of the Lhakhang as well as the Bhutanese architecture of campus. Very beautiful and interesting and well worth visiting!

This museum was so much more than I expected. And it's FREE! Big thumbs up for any age and quite possibly one of the most comprehensive museums in the area with a focus on natural history and cultural history. I haven't had a chance to check out the Chihuahuan Desert Gardens completely, but from the areas I have walked through and gotten glimpses of, they do a pretty good job there too. The next time I get a chance, I will do the full garden tour and take lots of pictures.It's not just free for students, it's free for everyone. There's visitor parking pretty close (right next to the Bookstore), but if you have to park further away there are free shuttles that run continually.I wasn't sure where to start when I walked in... upstairs? downstairs? to the left? in that room over there? so I made my way to the front desk and was told that upstairs is the permanent exhibits. I decided to start there to get a real feel for what this place is all about and I think I'd recommend going this route.The permanent exhibit blew what ever expectations I had out of the water. I was actually surprised that the biggest focus wasn't on El Paso, it was on UTEP (meaning a little El Paso and a lot of UTEP alum and scholars work). They've set it up very smartly. You have your natural history on one side and your cultural history in the center and then a little bit of natural history in the form of species on the other side.The species exhibits were my favorite. Just a lot of cool animals, some I've never actually seen in real life (like a beaver and a grizzly bear) with some fascinating facts... I now know the difference between a grizzly bear and a black bear, not joking, I could legitimately identify the one that's more likely to eat me.There had a few hands-on exhibits like the earthquakes in real time, but I got the impression that the experience would be quite different if you were to take young kids during one of their family oriented events (they had a whole classroom area filled with crafty things).I did have a little time to check out the visiting exhibit that was all focused on a UTEP expedition to the Congo. It was most focused on pictures of the different animals and events they encountered. They have a nice movie screening room that was showing a documentary filmed during this expedition, very enlightening.I would definitely recommend this for kids and adults alike. Very interesting artifacts and exhibits. And they're located on campus so you have some food options afterwards and can even check out the art museum/gallery, make it a day trip.

FREE! I've visited twice now and I like to see the changing exhibits. The summer of 2019 there was an exhibit on detainment camps for those crossing the US/ Mexico border into the US. It was very thought provoking. The permanent exhibits need to be updated. I wouldn't be surprised if they've been there since the 60s. But they are still worth seeing and reading. There is an ethnology, geology, and biology section as well as fossils. The gardens outside are nice but fairly small so don't expect to spend much time out there unless you're going to sit and read a book.

The garden is fairly small, but lovely. It, alone, is worth a stop for plant and garden lovers like me. With the pandemic, we didn't spend a great deal of time inside the museum, but it was good, too. Beware, there is a LOT of taxidermy, which deeply upset one of my children. Some great modern art in there as well - mostly paintings and photography.

El Paso's First MuseumLocated at the University of Texas at El Paso. Paleontology, Geology, Ethnology, Birds & Mammals permanent exhibits. Must see, the beautiful Chihuahuan Garden. It is just a wonderful place to visit and see! :)