Free Lecture at Mandala Center

Capulin Volcano National Monument will be hosting a series of lecturers to deliver FREE presentations based – not on the geology of Capulin Volcano but – on how the 60,000 year-old volcano fits into the cultural landscape of New Mexico.

Capulin Volcano National Monument in northeast New Mexico is organizing multiple free lectures hosted by local museums. A talk at the Des Moines Mandala Center on Thursday, March 17th brings alive a local ranch foreman, George McJunkin, who found evidence of prehistoric humans in the Americas.  Dorothy Smoker will be presenting at 7 PM at the Mandala Center: 96 Mandala Road, Des Moines NM 88418, and the number to call in advance is 575.278.3002.

The lecture series will frame Capulin Volcano not just a monument to volcanic geology, but as a significant landmark in local culture and history. Each event will bring a new partner to the mission of preserving an almost-perfectly formed cinder cone volcano. Attendees will have opportunities to find new ways of understanding the one-hundred year-old national monument in its centennial year.

Each of these events will be free to the public. Each event will start at 7 PM at the specified location. Partners include the New Mexico Humanities Council, Seton Memorial Library and Philmont Museum, Herzstein Museum, Mandala Center, and the City of Raton’s Shuler Theater, and the Western National Parks Association.