Roswell is located on the high plains in southeastern New Mexico, 540 miles from Denver, about a nine-hour drive.
What to see
The International UFO Museum and Research Center
114 N. Main St., 505-625-9495.
This museum is the highlight of a visit to Roswell. Whether you believe in UFOs, the museum is a hoot. Check the schedule of videos being shown when you first arrive. Don’t miss “Roswell,” starring Martin Sheen, based on the book, “UFO Crash at Roswell.” It will help put the sequence of events of the supposed UFO crash in perspective, and may even make you a believer – or at least, get you thinking. Museum exhibits show what is believed to have happened in Roswell in July 1947 through photographs, news clippings and witness statements. It also features artwork portraying space, aliens and UFOs, and spotlights UFO phenomenon not connected to Roswell.
The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily March 1-Sept. 30 and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 1-Feb. 28. Admission is free, but visitors likely will spend bucks in the adjacent gift shop, which has everything imaginable related to outer space.
Roswell Museum and Art Center
100 W. 11th St., 505-624-6744,
http://www.roswellmuseum.org/
Known for its collection of New Mexico modernist art, the museum features works by Georgia O’Keeffe and others from the Santa Fe and Taos art colonies. The Founders Gallery, the original mission-style museum building opened in 1937 as a Works Progress Administration project, highlights works by the late regional artists Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth, who lived and painted on their Sentinel Ranch in nearby San Patricio.
Part of the complex houses the reconstructed original workshop of rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard, considered the father of modern rocket propulsion, who conducted many of his experiments on the outskirts of Roswell in the 1920s-30s. He constructed and successfully tested the first rocket using liquid fuel in 1926. Adjacent to the museum, the Robert H. Goddard Planetarium is named in his honor.
The center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday and holidays. Admission is free.
Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art
409 E. College Blvd., 505-623-5600.
Works by more than 150 artists who participated in the Roswell Artists-in-Residence program make a bold splash at this museum in a one-time industrial building. Philanthropist Donald B. Anderson established the museum in 1967 to share his private eclectic collection he had obtained through gifts, purchases or trades from the grateful artists.
The museum is open from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m. weekdays and by appointment on weekends. Admission is free.
New Mexico Military Institute, 101 W. College Blvd., 505-622-6250. Drive through the campus of this distinguished military junior college and college prep high school, which was established in 1891.
Where to stay
Roswell has more than a dozen moderately-priced and budget motels, including the Comfort Inn, Days Inn, Econo Lodge, Motel 6, Ramada Inn and Super 8. The Best Western Sally Port Inn & Suites and Holiday Inn Express are considered the best in town. For a listing, check out www.roswellcvb.com/accom.htm
Information: Roswell Visitor’s Bureau, 505-624-0889 or http://www.roswellcvb.com;/ or Roswell Chamber of Commerce, 505-623-5695 or http://www.roswellnm.org/