Created by artist Michael Wallace and a team of around 300 volunteers and school students, the artificial fossils of Calabacillas Arroyo is a large-scale art installation in Albuquerque. Inspired by the way that buried fossils serve as a timeline of natural history, it serves as an interpretive timeline of New Mexican history from the Precambrian era through the unknown tomorrow. 

The arroyo itself is an important flood-control structure that empties into the Rio Grande as well as a major public open space in the city. The addition of the artwork in the ’90s, which is designed to be an “open space scavenger hunt,” led to the arroyo’s current motto of “Flood Control, Open Space, and Art.” In the arroyo, you’ll find life-sized T-Rexes and triceratops alongside human artifacts of local history, including Robert Oppenheimer’s car and the “Fat Boy” atomic bomb (a nod to the nuclear research at nearby Los Alamos).

While the most obvious fossils are cast in white, don’t miss more subtle features impressed and carved into the red walls. Take your time and stay curious while exploring this walking tour of New Mexico history.