Mosaic of faces

Get Involved

We Are Colorado

At History Colorado we strive to be a place of belonging for all Coloradans and to serve as a platform for community connection and co-creation. We know we’re succeeding when more voices, perspectives and experiences are part of History Colorado. 

We're creating community programming and developing neighborhood memory projects. We’re also working with staff and volunteers to integrate inclusivity at every level of museum work.

We invite you to join us! 

History Colorado is collecting stories and photos of Chicana women at the forefront then and now. Do you or someone you love have a Chicana photograph or story to share with History Colorado? If so, please email a digital photo, a few lines detailing the story, and contact information about the person to hello at historycolorado.org.

"The Movement Makers" on That's What She Did podcast

The Movement Makers Panel is the culmination of History Colorado’s yearlong initiative “Year of La Chicana”. This community-driven programming was a directive born out of a desire to honor Chicanas - past, present, and future and to share their stories with a wide range of communities. It was featured in a pre-season special on the podcast That's What she Did.

Upcoming Events

No events available. Try changing filter settings.

Emerging Leaders Class  

AAPI Emerging Leaders Program - Meet the members of the 2019 Emerging Leaders Class

History Colorado has become a force for finding new and inclusive ways to serve Coloradans. In 2018 History Colorado provided programs to more than 18,000 students in their own schools, and assisted more than 40 schools with bus funds, to expand efforts that now serve more than 85,000 students annually. Its all-day Hands-On History program at El Pueblo History Museum responds to the four-day school week that is now administered by 61% of Colorado school districts.

Community Partnerships & Engagement

  • Thumbnail

    Year of La Chicana

    A partnership between History Colorado and the El Movimiento Community Advisory Committee, Year of La Chicana celebrates and honors La Chicana past, present and future and shares her story with a wide range of audiences.

    During this year we are working with community to connect the core issues of the Chicano movement with present day issues of social justice, identity and inclusion.

  • Thumbnail

    Museum of Memory Initiative

    Museum of Memory is a public history initiative that works together with Colorado residents to co-author a shared history. We collaboratively work to reanimate, center and amplify the histories that have long existed only in the margins and create the opportunity for the community to decide how to remember its collective past.

    History Colorado has assisted in nine Museum of Memory projects to date, some of which are still in progress and with more to come.

  • Thumbnail

    NAGPRA Program

    History Colorado has adopted an active program of implementing the provisions of the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Our NAGPRA program philosophy is summarized in the following statement:

    NAGPRA calls for the establishment of new relationships between museums and Native Americans—relationships that reflect a spirit of cooperative interaction and partnership. It is of critical importance that History Colorado staff and administrators support an approach to NAGPRA issues that reflects a commitment to sustaining such relationships. This requires open and full communications with interested Native American communities and lineal descendants regarding History Colorado collections, as well as an institutional intent to consider repatriation claims for human remains and objects that fall under the law.

Community Collections & Storytelling

  • LGBTQ Terms

    LGBTQ+ Coloradans

    Currently, the contributions, history, and voices of LGBTQ+ people are minimally represented in the permanent collection of History Colorado, resulting in limited opportunities for the public to engage, explore, and connect with the LGBTQ+ community. Now with generous support from the Gill Foundation, History Colorado will establish the Gill Foundation LGBTQ+ Archive, which will highlight 25 years of work by the Gill Foundation, preserve the legacy of Tim Gill’s philanthropic impact on LGBTQ+ rights in the state, and document Colorado’s LGBTQ+ community.

    History Colorado helps make sense of the world through the filter of history while fostering in every Coloradan an understanding of their own history. In our blogs, our publications, our collecting initiatives and more, we've been gathering and telling the stories of LGBTQ+ Coloradans.

  • Thumbnail

    Italian Coloradans

    Shaped by the country they left behind, Italian immigrants made their way to Colorado in the late 1850s, spurred by the mining boom.

    Upon arrival, they faced many challenges, often living in segregated communities. Despite their struggles, Italian immigrants persevered and prospered, making an impact on the communities they were becoming a part of.

    Today Colorado’s Italian American community is experiencing a revival, with members committed to preserving their history. Below are personal histories and rare photographs collected in collaboration with this community.

    Check out our recently re-published book Italy in Colorado for more!

  • Thumbnail

    Hispano Coloradans

    No matter where you live or travel in Colorado, the Hispano influence is powerfully felt. So many people have made their mark on Colorado’s rich history, and our state’s Hispano residents have been here longer than many.

    Join us in celebrating their stories — stories of discovery, patience, persistence and resilience.

  • Hecho

    Hecho en Colorado

    Member Tickets →
    Non-member Tickets →

Recent Related Articles

  • Borderlands Hero

    Borderlands of Southern Colorado Syllabus

    The more we explore the history of Colorado’s borderlands the more we want to know. This syllabus is designed to provide resources to people — like us — who want to know more and learn more about the unique heritage and culture of the Borderlands of Southern Colorado.

  • Women of the Women's Army Corps

    The Women of the WAC

    Simple cues can trigger powerful memories. It could be the trace smell of baked bread, the muted touch of a wool blanket, seeing the intricate details on a Christmas ornament, tasting a scrumptious dish or hearing the first, chiming notes of a melody. For these four women, a flood of memories started with just three letters: W.A.C.

  • Gang of 19

    To Live as Full and Equal Participants

    A lawyer enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act who is also an individual with a disability offers his perspective on thirty years since the ADA’s signing on July 26, 1990.

  • Pride Flag

    Reflections on a Personal History of Pride

  • Pride Flag

    The Queen City

    PRIDE Month is an annual celebration for members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) community. The LGBTQ+ community has always had a presence in Denver and Colorado. During the mid-twentieth century, people in the LGBTQ+ community lived in a world that did not accept who they were as individuals. These individuals experienced constant fear of exposure. They feared the police because of police brutality, harassment, and arrest. They feared the media because their names, addresses, and jobs would be published in the newspaper if they were arrested by the police. They feared the loss of friends, family, jobs, housing, and livelihood if they were exposed as being LGBTQ+. These fears, for many in the community, still exist and are experienced today.

  • Black Lives Matter Protestor

    Denver in the Movement for Black Lives

  • Denver Post

    Mother’s Day Without a Mom

    Mother’s Day is often seen as a wholesome celebration of the special women in our lives. But for those of us struggling with infertility, the loss of a child or a sister, the mourning of an estranged mother, or myriad other heartaches, Mother’s Day can bring up painful reminders of the relationships with the women in our lives that we cannot celebrate the way we’d like to.