Explora Science Center & Children’s Museum

Explora Science Center & Children’s Museum of Albuquerque (Explora) is an innovative experiential learning center with a mission of creating opportunities for inspirational discovery and the joy of lifelong learning through interactive experiences in science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Explora addresses its mission by providing exhibit activities and inquiry-based classroom programs that illuminate foundational concepts and engage people of all ages with tools and equipment related to scientific phenomena. Explora’s core values are Community, Learning, People, and Diversity. We work with our statewide community to co-develop projects that address shared aspirations for creating a safe, child-centered community and a place to provide opportunities for cradle-through-career learning. We also work with a network of over 100 partner organizations to help overcome challenges that stifle access to opportunities. Explora is committed to working systemically to improve educational outcomes, drive economic development, and build community prosperity through our Cradle through Career STEAM Learning Campus and accompanying strategic plan. This newly-expanded campus in Old Town Albuquerque contains Explora, X Studio–our new teen workforce development center, Brillante Early Learning Center–which provides licensed, full-time childcare, and outdoor learning environments, including trails, nature play spaces, and an adjacent city park. Explora serves more than 380,000 people a year from across all of New Mexico. The families we serve represent our state’s cultural diversity, at roughly 61.6% Hispanic, 24% Caucasian, 10.6% Native American, 2.3% African American, and 1.5% Asian/Pacific Islander (NM PED, “2018 District report cards”). A full 74.7% of New Mexico students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch and struggle with issues related to poverty and access to educational resources (Ibid.). In response, we offer all programs at no- or low-cost and annually provide over 20,000 low-income families with no-cost Explora memberships for year-round admission. Explora is the fulfillment of a collaborative vision. Incorporated as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) in 1985, Explora Science Center merged with the Albuquerque Children’s Museum in 1995. With broad, cross-sector support, the new Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum of Albuquerque opened a 50,000-square-foot experiential museum to the public in 2003. In 2014, Explora began using a “turning outward” approach to community engagement (Harwood Institute, n.d.), transforming Explora’s relevance and placing it at the helm of a number of large-scale initiatives. For example, Explora is the lead organization for the nationally-designated STEM Learning Ecosystem, STEM-NM, and serves as the backbone organization for the state-funded Coalition for Science Learning in Early Childhood (CSLEC). Explora’s exemplary record of community service has earned it the prestigious Noyce Foundation Bright Lights Award for Community Engagement, as well as IMLS’s National Medal for Museum and Library Service. In February 2023 Explora opened our X Studio teen workforce development center, which won the AREA 505 Workforce Development Award that same year. In May 2024, Explora opened two pilot Brillante classrooms to provide high-quality childcare for two- through five-year-olds. In June 2024 we received a five-star quality rating–the highest rating a center can receive.