For Immediate Release
Contact: Alicia Borrego Pierce 505-264-5464
 
Sandia Mountain Natural History Center Ends School Year on High Note
 
June 6, 2013 – Albuquerque, NM - The Sandia Mountain Natural History Center is home to wild creatures, insects and the Sandia Mountains. It is truly a beautiful place where education meets nature. The Center, located in Cedar Crest, NM, is owned by Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) and is operated by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science through a Joint Powers Agreement with APS.
 
Since 1967 the Center has been teaching the students of New Mexico about the environment and how to preserve it. The primary mission of the Center and its staff is to educate the citizens of New Mexico about ecology, ecosystems, the environment and conservation. The Center was declared an Environmental Education Landmark by the National Park Service and was awarded the Environmental Excellence Award by the Environmental Protection Agency.
 
School programs are offered both onsite and offsite at the Center. The onsite, "Ecology Field Program" is a program where students can visit for a 4-hour program. During that time they go for a 2-hour hike and participate in hands-on activities focusing on ecosystems.
 
The offsite school program offered is the "Traveling Ecology Field Program" where Center staff travel around the state providing students with a program featuring nature hikes at a park or wild area near the students’ schools which ultimately gives students a better understanding of the unique ecosystems near them.
 
This, 2012-2013 school year, the Sandia Mountain Natural History Center had a huge year with staff teaching over 15,000 people around the state! And now, you can experience the Center for yourself on July 7, 2013 from 9:00am – 4:00pm, with a special talk on insects at 10am and 1pm.
 
For more information on the SMNHC call: 505-281-5259 or www.nmnaturalhistory.org/smnhc