Roswell Museum

A surprisingly serious art and history museum, plus a Goddard rocket workshop.

Address 1011 N Richardson Ave, Roswell, NM

A much more substantial museum than first-time visitors expect. Founded in 1937 as a WPA project, the collection covers Taos Society of Artists work, Henriette Wyeth and Peter Hurd (who lived nearby), and a rotating contemporary collection.

The real surprise is the Robert H. Goddard wing — a complete reconstruction of the rocketry pioneer's Roswell workshop, with original tools, blueprints, and a launch tower model. There is also a small planetarium operating Friday and Saturday evenings. Free admission. Closed Mondays.

things to do museum
A story
Robert H. Goddard, the inventor of the modern liquid-fueled rocket, worked in semi-secret in Roswell from 1930 to 1942 — the desert offered the empty horizons and dry climate his test launches required. The museum holds a meticulous reconstruction of his Mescalero Ranch workshop, including the actual machine tools, drawings, and the wreckage of one of his rockets that crashed during a test.