Font ResizeLAS CRUCES - The Van of Enchantment, a statewide museum outreach vehicle operated by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, will present Trails and Tales, a traveling exhibition, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 16 at Sierra Middle School, 1700 E. Spruce. The van will close for lunch according to the school schedule. Please contact the school for visitor check-in procedures.
A mobile museum, the Van of Enchantment is a converted RV that tours New Mexico carrying exhibitions and educational material from the collections of the state museums and monuments. The current exhibition, Trails and Tales, journeys across two centuries of history as it introduces New Mexico's road systems surrounding Chaco Canyon, El Camino Real and the Old Spanish Trail. Trails and Tales brings to life the ancient trade and journey routes of old New Mexico.
The hands-on exhibit will allow visitors to touch authentic and replica artifacts. Touch the carved wood of a carreta wheel, used by the Spanish settlers traveling north to New Mexico along El Camino Real. View a pack saddle that carried goods from New Mexico to California along the Old Spanish Trail. Handle the same type of peridot that was traded and made into jewelry by the people of Chaco Canyon.
