Roswell UFO Museum

In July, 1947, ranch foreman William Brazel and his son discovered a pile of debris on a ranch in New Mexico consisting of rubber strips, tinfoil, thick paper, and sticks. At the same time, people reported seeing a round disc in the sky that later crashed. What could that round disc be?

Fun Facts

• After the discovery, the U.S. Army Air Forces said the disc was actually a weather balloon. People forgot about the incident for more than 30 years.

  

• In the 1970s, several people became interested in the weather balloon. These people looked at classified (and released) military documents and became convinced that the balloon was actually an alien spacecraft.

  

• They suggested that the U.S. military had recovered alien bodies and was lying about the incident. Interest grew in Roswell, New Mexico and other people came to investigate. Several of them even wrote books.
• In the 1990s, the military released two reports stating that the disc was actually a nuclear test surveillance balloon from Project Mogul.

  

• But believers would not be swayed. One man made an elaborate presentation that included photos of a supposed alien, which later turned out to be the mummified body of a Native American child discovered in the late 1800s. The remains had been displayed in a museum for many years.
• Today, the Roswell UFO incident is the most well-known and most researched UFO sighting. There is no evidence that the incident actually involved alien beings.
• A museum in Roswell, New Mexico holds exhibits and materials related to the incident:

  

Vocabulary

1. Foreman: a manager
2. Incident: a situation

Questions and Answers

Question: Why did so many people believe in the UFO sighting?

Answer: After World War II through the Cold War and into the 1980s, there was a deep sense of fear, much of it aimed at government and military, including the U.S. government. During the 1980s especially, people were interested in conspiracy theory.

The people writing books and making presentations about Roswell had a lot to gain financially. They produced reams of “evidence,” which made them seem credible to the gullible.

Even today, conspiracy theories abound. To avoid falling for a tall tale, it’s important to ask questions, think logically, and review research carefully. “If you hear hoof beats, look for horses, not zebras” is an old saying that means, “the simplest, most logical explanation is probably the right one.”

Learn More

Watch video of another potential UFO sighting.