Next door to the Aquar­i­um, this expan­sive botan­i­cal gar­den is one of Albu­querque’s real gems. The place is an oasis with a vari­ety of gar­dens to explore, with an empha­sis on high desert plants but also with many high­light exhibits that are great for chil­dren: an indoor con­ser­va­to­ry with lush Mediter­ranean plants, an insec­tar­i­um with plen­ty of creepy-crawlies, an indoor but­ter­fly pavil­ion that’s open in the sum­mer, a large Japan­ese gar­den with a koi pond and a water­fall, a recre­ation of an ear­ly 20th cen­tu­ry farm with a barn­yard pet­ting zoo, a mod­el rail­road, and a fan­tas­tic chil­dren’s Fan­ta­sy Gar­den made to look as if you’ve shrunk down to a bug’s size, with giant pre­tend veg­eta­bles, gar­den tools and bugs.