Micro Museums

Welcome to Micro Museums, a small collection of 3-D files from institutions across the Department of Cultural Affairs. 

Below, you’ll find examples of the objects we have available for educational use and 3-D printing. Click the video to see more, read about these treasures, and find out who to contact to obtain a teaching packet. These packets will include a 3-D model of the object, a printable 3-D file, and affiliate lesson plans for use in your classroom!

New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bisti Beast

Print a piece of New Mexico’s fossilized past! New Mexico’s very own tyrannosaur, the Bisti Beast (Bistahieversor sealeyi), roamed the lush rainforest along the coastline of the Western Interior Seaway 75 million years ago.  Click on the animation to the left, which rotates the skull in three dimensions. Visible with the 3D model are features that made the adult Bisti Beast a keen hunter; its awesome sense of smell and its forward-facing eyes to quickly find and carefully stalk its prey! 

Contact for files: To be re-added soon

The New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum Grist Mill

People have used gristmills to grind grain (grist) for thousands of years! At one time there were hundreds of gristmills in New Mexico. The technology of these mills evolved throughout the centuries, but the basic concept remained the same: Grain is placed between two prepared, ridged stones and then ground to produce flour and meal that could be used for cooking. Click on the animation to the left to see all the components of the Grist Mill in three dimensions. Produce this 3D model to explore the components of a grist mill.

Contact Nathan Japel at: Nathan.Japel@dca.nm.gov

More files from the New Mexico Museum of Art, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, and the National Hispanic Cultural Center are on the way!

Stay tuned.