Sneak peek of Ken Burns’ National Parks documentary Enter to win prizes, too!

Join the New Mexico History Museum and KNME for a free sneak peek at Ken Burns’ new documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, at 6 pm Friday, Sept. 25, in the New Mexico History Museum Auditorium, 113 Lincoln Ave. Seating is first-come first-served.

Besides the preview, attendees can enter to win a variety of prizes from the New Mexico History Museum, Department of Cultural Affairs and New Mexico State Parks —annual camping passes, CulturePasses for free admission to museums and monuments, Telling New Mexico books, El Palacio subscriptions, children’s tackle boxes and more.

Attendees will be among the first to see a 50-minute preview of Burns’ six-episode series, which begins airing on KNME (Channel 5) on Sunday, Sept. 27, 7-9 pm and 9-11 pm. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea was directed by Ken Burns and written and co-produced by Dayton Duncan.

The New Mexico History Museum and the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs are proud to partner with KNME on this special event. Within the History Museum and throughout the state’s museums, monuments and State Parks, cultural treasures and personal explorations into the American West’s art, music, history and landscape await.

The History Museum has had a lengthy partnership with KNME, which produced a series of videos that run continuously in various areas of the Museum’s permanent exhibition, Telling New Mexico: Stories from Then and Now. In July, the Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded the Museum and KNME a grant of $147,000 to produce 15 more history videos for the Museum, both entities’ Web sites and on-air broadcast.

The National Parks:  America’s Best Idea highlights some of nature’s most spectacular locales, from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades to Carlsbad Caverns and more. Besides celebrating the parks’ breathtaking features, the documentary tells the stories of people who were willing to devote themselves to saving some precious portion of the land they loved – and in doing so reminded their fellow citizens of the full meaning of democracy.  It is a story full of struggle and conflict, high ideals and crass opportunism, stirring adventure and enduring inspiration.

Co-sponsors of the documentary’s broadcast on KNME are the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, New Mexico Humanities Council and New Mexico State Parks.