by Daniel Goodman | May 2, 2017 | Curator's Corner
Maybe one of the most important tools on the New Mexican frontier was the strike-a-light, known as an eslabón (link) in Mexico and chispa (spark) in New Mexico. Dating from the time of the Romans, chispas are a highly effective fire starter when paired with a small...
by Daniel Goodman | Mar 7, 2017 | Curator's Corner
The object pictured here is an aparejo. Aparejos are pack pad saddles that go over the backs of donkeys and mules to form the base of the packing system, and protect the animal from injury. This particular aparejo is from the mid to late 1800s; it even still has the...
by Daniel Goodman | Dec 1, 2016 | Curator's Corner
by Daniel Goodman, Director of Education and Collections Every now and then I get a “what is it” question about an object. With everything we have here at the Museum, it is not uncommon to come across something that is a bit of a puzzle. The item in...
