Out of school time offers a unique opportunity to explore certain topics in more depth, especially at the History Colorado Center. Parents can take advantage of the museum’s many activities, topics, and interactive exhibits that engage students in a way that would be difficult to complete in a classroom.

“The museum is offering its resources to explore STEM concepts and career options, as well as offer extra opportunities to dive deeper into museum content and Colorado’s story,” says Alison Salutz from History Colorado.

Colorado’s story begins with the state’s extraordinary geography. Kids of all ages can now use the state map that fills the entire museum atrium that is computer-interactive. When you enter the sunlit atrium, visitors look down to see a 40-by-60-foot Colorado map embedded in the terrazzo floor. A seven-foot-tall “steam punk”–style time machine animates the map as you push it from one “hot spot” to another. When the machine hits a hot spot, video screens light up, a little clock ticks back, and…it’s 1954, you’re over Colorado Springs, and you’re seeing a film on the founding of the Air Force Academy. The time machine tells more than two dozen historic and contemporary stories connected to every region within the state.

Destination Colorado

At the northeastern corner of the map, you’ll find a railroad depot. As you enter, you see life-size media screens, each with a person—a boy playing cards, a teacher reading a book, a businessman checking the train schedule. As you approach, a character looks up and says, “Hi, welcome. We’ve been expecting you.” You’re now in the eastern prairie town of Keota. The year is 1918, and thanks to the Homestead Act, you’ve come for your piece of land and the American dream. This exhibit, Destination Colorado, takes you through the high school Keotans lovingly built for their children. There’s a Model T you can ride down a bumpy road, a homestead where you hear local gossip, a barn with a hayloft, and a general store. At the kid level, you’re milking a cow and gathering eggs. The guides from the depot meet you at each of the locations and provide the story of the people—the quintessential Coloradans—who built this town. Through text, you learn about Keota in the national and international context. This exhibit also asks you to think about the plains today—the challenges and opportunities.

Colorado Stories

On the second floor, Colorado Stories leads you on a walk through eight Colorado communities at various points in time. You enter an 1880s hard-rock mine where you learn about mucking, mules, blasting, and the courage and pride that went into that work. At Bent’s Fort, you choose an avatar and solve a series of problems alongside Kit Carson, Captain Frémont, and Owl Woman. As you explore the Japanese internment camp of Amache, you learn about Governor Ralp Carr’s courageous stand on the incarceration of American citizens. You travel to Lincoln Hills, a mountain resort for African Americans in the Jim Crow days of the 1920s (featured in this issue). At Steamboat Springs, you take a virtual leap off Howelsen Hill.

These environmental, interactive, and emotionally gripping exhibits not only respond to audience interest, they underscore the diversity of Colorado’s people and the Colorado experience. Each provides perspectives on Colorado today and provokes questions about our future.

Other galleries available to explore include Denver A-Z featuring everything from the Blue Bear at the Denver Convention Center and the Denver Broncos Barrel Man to Zombies in Cheesman Park and the first-ever electric car called the Fritchle.

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History Colorado's mission is to inspire generations to find wonder and meaning in our past and to engage in creating a better Colorado. We serve as the state's memory, preserving the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through our museums, educational programs, historic preservation grants, research library, collections, and outreach to Colorado communities. Find History Colorado on all major social media platforms. Visit HistoryColorado.org or call (303) HISTORY for more information.