Virtual Learning

  New Mexican traditional weaving is alive and thriving at El Rancho de las Golondrinas living history museum. Weavers meet at Las Golondrinas almost everyday from 9:30am to 4pm to demonstrate for visitors, enjoy each others’ company, perfect their skills and learn new techniques. Men and women who would like to learn any facet of traditional […]

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Explore New Mexico from Your Kitchen One of the best ways to experience New Mexico is through our amazing cuisine. With big bold flavors, unique combinations and mouth-watering taste, New Mexican food can satisfy any foodie. Piñon Nuts Sopa (Spanish Bread Pudding) Torta de Huevo Red Chile Flour Tortillas Green Chile Stew Posolé Calabacitas Biscochitos

The Card Game “Memory” is also called Concentration. Among other things, being a good historian means being able to remember all kinds of interesting information about the past. This easy card game helps to strengthen your memory and concentration skills and it’s fun to play, either alone or with a friend! Number of Players: One […]

The game can be played as individuals or in teams. Everyone involved in the fun should write down a historical person’s name, a historic place, history genre book title, or historical movie on a small piece of paper. As a group you can even decide on a specific era or theme! Each player should come […]

Beetle Dice Beetle is a simple but creative dice game of rolling and drawing. Alternate Names: Bug, Cootie Object of the Game: In turn, players roll a die to determine which body part of a beetle (or bug or cootie) they are allowed to draw. The first player to finish drawing their beetle wins. Equipment: […]

“Play is the highest form of research.” —Albert Einstein. When you were kids did you ever play “bones”? Ever wonder why dice (and often dominoes, which are also called “iles”) are called “bones”? You guessed it! Because they were originally made from the ankle bones of animals. Early civilizations used bones, hooves and horns from […]

Pinto beans, common as they may be, have some really incredible traits which have kept them popular, and in our company, for a long time.  Learn more about this deliciously nutritious food! 

The mines of Cerrillos, New Mexico produce a particularly beautiful blue/green variety of turquoise, so stunning in fact that they have been mined for roughly the last 3,000 years! Chemically, it is a phosphate of aluminum carrying small quantities of copper and iron and a green mineral, variscite. These give the gemstone its color as […]

Nuts About Piñon? The seeds of New Mexico’s official state tree, the Piñon Pine (adopted in 1949) have long sustained Native peoples and Hispanic settlers; a cultural and economic tradition going back generations. Learn more about this tasty and nutritious little nut, and try out these local recipes! Go Nuts in New Mexico A Piñon […]

This indigenous species from the squash family grows throughout Northern Mexico, Western and Southwestern United States. If you are lucky enough to live in the West then you have surely seen this plant. It grows on the side of the road all summer, sending out long green tendrils dotted with big yellow squash blossoms and small […]

Chamber pots and privies! Were they used by the early Spaniards in the Southwest? To what degree did the colonial settlers imitate the Pueblo Indians in their careful removal of waste?  Learn more about this “Unmentionable Subject”

Yucca has certainly earned its place among state symbols as it has many prominent uses. The Pueblos used the Yucca plant to make things like mats, shoes, rope, needle and thread, and as it turns out, soap!    Yucca Soap

A display of Arbuckle’s can be found at our General Store, or “Tiendita,”” here at El Rancho de las Golondrinas. Arbuckle’s coffee would have been found in many a general store all over the country, but particularly in the West. Learn more about this “Cowboy Coffee” here! You can also visit their website to watch […]

The Helianthus annuus, or Annual Sunflower, loves to grow in disturbed soil, so you often see it in newly dug up land or on the side of the road. If you drive around New Mexico in August or September you are bound to see many of these wild sunflowers.  Learn more about this cheerful plant!  […]

Synonymous with Santa Fe and known for staying cool in the summer and warm in the winter, Adobe was the first construction material used by humans, and to this day 50% of the world’s population still live in some form of adobe housing! Learn about the history of Adobe.

Out of necessity, general stores like La Tiendita here at Las Golondrinas, got their start during the colonial period for the many pioneers who lived on the fringes of the frontier, far from any urban center. Many owners of these mercantiles began as traveling peddlers and once they had the financial ability, and steady supply […]

During the Spanish Colonial Period (1598-1821), New Mexico’s main artery of connection to the outside world was El Camino Real, also known as the Royal Road or the King’s Highway, which connected Santa Fe with Mexico City 1,200 miles away. The story of El Camino Real lasted more than 220 years, from its beginning in […]

The unusual history of this breed began in North Africa, the home of the Berbers. The long occupation of Spain by the invading warrior horsemen from North Africa brought about the creation of a superior horse. The agile desert bred African Barb horse was crossed with existing Spanish stock to form the Spanish Barb horse. […]

Here at El Rancho de las Golondrinas we have a large animal family. Our biggest group is our flock of Churro Sheep, who are key in our “sheep to blanket” program. Our talented weavers turn Churro wool into beautiful textile art using traditional techniques! The Churro was the very first breed of domesticated sheep in […]