El Paso Museum of History facts for kids
Entrance to the El Paso Museum of History facing Cleveland Park.
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| Established | 1974 |
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| Location | 510 N. Santa Fe Street El Paso, Texas |
| Type | History Museum |
The El Paso Museum of History is an exciting place in downtown El Paso, Texas. It teaches you all about the last 400 years of history in the area where the United States and Mexico meet. The museum has a huge space, over 16,000 square feet, for its exhibits.
You can explore many different galleries at the museum. Some galleries show special exhibits that change over time. Others have permanent displays that are always there. The museum also offers fun programs and has a cool digital touchscreen wall.
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Discovering El Paso's Past
The El Paso Museum of History helps you learn about the rich history of the region. It covers many important events and stories from the past four centuries. This includes how the area grew and changed over time.
How the Museum Started
The museum first opened in 1974. Back then, it was called the Cavalry Museum. It focused mainly on the history of soldiers on horseback in the American West. In 1980, its name changed to the El Paso Museum of History.
For a while, the director of the El Paso Museum of Art also looked after this museum. But in 1990, the El Paso Museum of History got its very own director. This helped the museum grow even more.
A New Home for History
The original museum building was a bit small and not in the best spot. So, in 2000, people decided to build a new museum. This new building was part of a big plan to improve the city.
The new museum opened its doors on June 16, 2007, right in downtown El Paso. It quickly became very popular. In its first year, more than 30,000 people came to visit. The museum is even given credit for helping to make downtown El Paso a lively place again.
Honoring Local Heroes: The Wall of Giants
The El Paso Museum of History takes part in a special yearly project. It's called the Wall of Giants. This project honors a person, group, place, or event that has made a big difference in El Paso.
A community group called the Circle of Giants chooses who gets honored each year. Here are some of the amazing honorees:
- The 1st Wall of Giants honored Don Haskins and the "Glory Road" basketball team.
- The 2nd Wall of Giants recognized Farah Manufacturing Inc.
- The 3rd Wall of Giants celebrated El Paso's Mayors.
- The 4th Wall of Giants honored The Missions and Their People.
- The 5th Wall of Giants recognized the University of Texas at El Paso.
- The 6th Wall of Giants honored Fort Bliss.
Explore History with Digie: The Digital Wall
One of the coolest parts of the museum is the giant touchscreen digital wall. It's known as "Digie" and it opened on February 14, 2015. This amazing wall was the second of its kind in the world and the very first in the United States!
Digie is made up of five huge touchscreens. It shows an interactive, 3D view of El Paso's history, going all the way back to the late 1600s. Each screen is a 95-inch LED display. The content on Digie can even connect to other digital walls in different cities. The wall itself is super long, about forty feet, and six feet tall.
There's also a smaller, mobile version of Digie. This smaller wall can travel to schools, malls, and community centers. Digie lets visitors explore history by searching for information or just looking through the many images.
What Does Digie Mean?
"Digie" stands for Digital Information Gateway in El Paso. People from the community helped come up with ideas for the wall's name.
The museum invites everyone to share their own pictures and videos about El Paso. If you live there, have visited, or used to live there, you can share your memories. These can then be shown on Digie! All pictures are checked by the curator of Digie, Everett Thomas, before they are displayed. The wall is not just for viewing pictures and videos; it also saves and stores these important materials.
How Digie Was Created
Building the digital wall cost about three million dollars. This money came from a special fund approved in 2012. The idea for Digie started in 2011. Julia Bussinger, who directs the El Paso Museum of History, met with the director of the Copenhagen museum at a conference. They talked about having the next digital wall in El Paso. Copenhagen was home to the first digital wall of its kind in the world.
See also
