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John Eding, Communications & PR Manager
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The museum had been closed since November 20. It maintains strict capacity limits and has been converted to a no-to-low touch environment. Mandatory advance tickets and more information, including details about additional History Colorado museums open to visitors around the state, are available at historycolorado.org/welcome.

History Colorado Center hours
Tuesday – Sunday: 10 am – 5 pm
Monday, Members only (including History Buffs): 10 am – 5 pm

Guests can explore more than a dozen temporary and core exhibits at the 200,000-square-foot museum, which is located one block away from the Denver Art Museum in the heart of the Golden Triangle Creative District. They include an acclaimed new display of Colorado’s 1909 Civil War Monument, which was toppled during civil unrest in June; Hecho en Colorado, on view through January 10, presented in partnership with the Latino Cultural Arts Center of Denver; Forty Years on the ‘Fax, which highlights the golden age of America’s longest street; and an exhibition developed in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith, that reintroduces visitors to our founding principles through January 3.

The History Colorado Center also offers on-site child care and learning support for families experiencing school disruptions and holiday breaks, as well as at-home sessions for youth. All of the gift shops at History Colorado sites are open, and Café Rendezvous at the History Colorado Center remains open for carryout. The Stephen H. Hart Research Center at the museum will remain closed to in-person visits.

Expanded opportunities for digital engagement with History Colorado continue alongside in-person offerings. Its website experienced its busiest month ever in October. Upcoming highlights include conversations with preservationist Dana Crawford, artist and activist Anthony Grimes, interactive courses for adults, and shopping History Colorado’s collection via Etsy. 

About History Colorado
History Colorado is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 non-profit that serves more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. It is a 141-year-old institution that operates Colorado’s oldest museum, nine additional museums and historic sites, a free public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF), which is the nation’s largest preservation program of its kind. The SHF currently administers more than 280 grants across Colorado, of which more that 70% are allocated in rural areas.

History Colorado’s outlets are publishing Black voices and confronting entrenched racism in historic preservation. Within the last year History Colorado has added curators of Latino Heritage and LGBTQ+ History to its staff, and added a full-time position to its Museum of Memory team, which works proactively to incorporate underserved communities and voices into its contemporary collecting initiative and other efforts. The History Colorado Center is the nation’s first state history museum to display a monument toppled this summer with new, inclusive interpretation. History Colorado now shares anti-racist grounding virtues in all of its job postings, and asks all applicants to describe how these principles have shown up in their previous work and how they would contribute to these virtues in a position at History Colorado.

History Colorado’s eight museums around the state were among the first cultural institutions in Colorado to reopen to visitors under new safety protocols. The swift return to in-person service in June followed an agile reorganization in response to Covid-19 that catalyzed new avenues for youth education, full-length episodes of its podcasts, and a weekly digest with over 25,000 subscribers. It ramped up safe, affordable child care and remote-learning support for families experiencing school disruptions during the most recent round of museum closures due to surging Covid-19 cases.

History Colorado’s mission is to create a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. We serve as the state’s memory, preserving and sharing the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through educational programs, historic preservation grants, collecting, outreach to Colorado communities, the History Colorado Center and Stephen H. Hart Research Center in Denver, and nine other museums and historic attractions statewide. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information.