International UFO Museum and Research Center

Founded In 1991 By Two Participants In The 1947 Roswell Incident, In A Former Cinema On Main Street; The Anchor Of A Town That Has Built Its Identity On The Event · Roswell, New Mexico

In July 1947 something came down on a ranch near Corona, about 75 miles from Roswell. The local air base issued a press release saying it had recovered a flying disc, retracted it within a day and said it was a weather balloon, and in 1994 the Air Force said it had actually been Project Mogul, a classified programme flying microphone arrays to listen for Soviet nuclear tests. Whatever it was, the retraction is what made Roswell. This museum was founded in 1991 in a former cinema on Main Street by two men who had been involved at the time, and it is deliberately not slick: the core of it is wall after wall of documents, affidavits, newspaper front pages and witness statements, laid out so you can read the primary material and decide for yourself. Around that sit dioramas, a gift shop and an alien autopsy display. The town outside has painted its street lamps with alien eyes and leaned all the way in.

114 North Main Street, Roswell, Roswell, New Mexico, 88201, United States

Open daily through the middle of the day and afternoon, closing on a small number of major holidays. Hours extend during the UFO Festival over the July 4th weekend, when Main Street is closed to traffic and the town fills. The research library inside keeps shorter and more variable hours and is best arranged ahead if you want to use it properly. Summer afternoons are the busiest hour of any ordinary day.

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