Places educatorclaire Wants to Go

The ruins of this abandoned fort now stand as a picturesque reminder of America's march West.

This museum started as a collection of Manhattan Projects and continues to add exhibits as they are declassified.

Adobe ruins punctuate the beauty of an 800 foot canyon carved by the Canadian River.

A sprawling collection of over 106,000 toys from around the world.

This is one really big nut.

A preserve with 75,000 ancient drawings remains the realm of public – not just scientific – exploration.

Natural sonic phenomenon comes with a grisly legend of murder and blood.

These Pre-Columbian petroglyphs contain representations of birds, deer, hunters, and even some early Native flute players.

Giant origami sculptures tucked into desert scenery beckon passers-by to explore further.

A cave's rare beauty held a cavernous secret hidden underground.

A multi-storied adobe complex has been inhabited for more than a thousand years.

A phenomenal assembly of pueblos in New Mexico is the most complete example of ancient ruins north of the border.

Twice a year, visitors can tour the desolate site that birthed the Atomic Age.

Seemingly grown on some other world, these New Mexico rock formations look like a disused science fiction set.

The second-largest cave chamber in the world was discovered in 1898 by a 16-year-old and a friend known as "Pothead."

Explore the largest pure gypsum deposit in the world, and go dune sledding while you're at it.

One man has carved a number of natural New Mexico caves into psychedelic sandstone temples.

An immersive environment that is part haunted house, part choose-your-own-adventure, and part jungle gym.

The quiet canyon has a tumultuous history involving a doomsday cult.

Three vintage horses survived a 1976 inferno and found a home on a sister carousel.

A carousel trades in its classic horses and calliope for endangered species, native flora and fauna, and a modern soundtrack.

The famous animator's private station house and man-cave was the birthplace of imagineering.

The programmatic glory of LA's giant whiskey barrel building has become an upscale reminder of the city's kitschy roadside past.

These delicate buggers are some of the rarest fossils that have bubbled up from the Tar Pits.