Wednesday add-ons

Optional Wednesday Add-On Experiences

Enhance your SMU‑in‑Taos Cultural Institute weekend with an optional add‑on experience in Santa Fe before the program begins on Thursday. Participants may choose from two experiences: Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project: A Walking Tour Through Time or Santa Fe Opera: The Magic Flute.

Both add‑on experiences are based at La Fonda on the Plaza in historic Santa Fe. A special room block is available by contacting the hotel at 505‑954‑3500 and using rate code 1162471 before Monday, June 15, 2026. We recommend staying in Santa Fe on Wednesday evening before heading to Taos for Thursday afternoon’s Cultural Institute activities.

See the individual add‑on pages for additional details about each Wednesday offering. Note: The timing for these Wednesday experiences overlaps, so participants may only choose one. Space is extremely limited, and waitlists are available on a first‑come, first‑served basis.

Wednesday optional add-on experience:

Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project: A Walking Tour Through Time

The Manhattan Project in Los Alamos and the development of nuclear weapons had a profound cultural and political impact on the last century that still reverberates today. Embark on an in-depth exploration of big science’s past with Cas Milner, adjunct professor of physics at SMU and veteran Taos Cultural Institute instructor. This Wednesday add‑on course will explore the people and events that shaped our nation’s nuclear program and ushered in a fascinating new age of scientific discovery.

Participants will depart at 11 a.m. from the historic La Fonda on the Plaza hotel in Santa Fe on Wednesday morning to embark on a guided field trip to historic sites and museums in Los Alamos, including Bathtub Row, Fuller Lodge, the Bradbury Science Museum and more. Lunch and transportation between La Fonda on the Plaza hotel in Santa Fe and Los Alamos are included.

Add‑on course fee: $100 includes round‑trip transportation between La Fonda on the Plaza hotel in Santa Fe and Los Alamos, lecture and lunch.

Wednesday optional add-on experience:

Santa Fe Opera: The Magic Flute

Perched high in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the Santa Fe Opera offers one of the world’s most extraordinary cultural settings, an open-air theater where sweeping desert vistas and luminous evening skies become part of the performance itself. Few venues so seamlessly blend natural beauty and artistic excellence, creating an experience that lingers long after the final note.

This summer, participants will enjoy a rare opportunity to engage more deeply with Mozart’s beloved The Magic Flute. Guests will gather for lunch at noon, followed by a midafternoon lecture led by Viennese artist Andreas Mitisek, SMU’s director of Opera Theatre, held at the La Fonda on the Plaza hotel in Santa Fe. After dinner on their own, participants will board private transportation for an evening performance of The Magic Flute at the Santa Fe Opera on Wednesday night.

Add‑on course fee: $250 includes exclusive pre‑opera lecture, lunch, round‑trip transportation from the La Fonda on the Plaza hotel to the Santa Fe Opera on Wednesday evening, and one opera ticket located on the main floor back center. Note: Dinner is not included.