from around the world that range from
the 16th century to modern times. The
museum is housed in the 1899 Pearce
McAllister Cottage.
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver, 80205
303-322-7009; www.dmns.org
Founded in 1900, the Denver Museum
of Nature & Science hosts more than 1. 7
million visitors each year. The museums
displays 775,000 objects in its permanent
exhibits, which include dinosaur fossils and
prehistoric objects, Egyptian mummies and
artifacts, a visitor center to the universe,
hundreds of gems and minerals from around
the world, health science exhibits, North
American Indian artifacts and reconstructed
dwellings, and more than 90 wildlife habitat
scenes from across the globe. Other highlights are a variety of travelling exhibits, a
planetarium, an IMAX® theater, a library,
scientific lectures, demonstrations and
hands-on activities.
Foothills Art Center
809 15th St., Golden, 80401
303-279-3922; www.foothillsartcenter.org
Located in historic downtown Golden,
Foothills Art Center leads the community
through art, education, and cultural excellence. Foothills Art Center delivers engaging
exhibitions and diverse educational
programs for adults and children. Founded
in 1968 and an official member of the
United States National Registry of Historic
Buildings, the main gallery is housed in
an 1872 Gothic-style church and an 1892
Queen Anne–style manse, set behind a
sculpture garden designed by Saarinen
Landscape Architecture. The Foothills Art
Center Community Gallery is located next
door, in a Victorian era mansion built in
1899 by Perre O. Unger.
Forney Museum of Transportation
4303 Brighton Blvd., Denver, 80216
303-297-1113; www.forneymuseum.com
The Forney Museum of Transportation is a
one-of-a-kind collection of over 600 artifacts
relating to historical transportation. Unique
objects in its collection includes Amelia
Earhart’s “Gold Bug” Kissel, Prince Aly
Khan’s Rolls Royce, and “Big Boy,” the
world’s largest steam locomotive. Displays
of antique cars, locomotives, buggies,
carriages, wagons, trolleys and motorcycles
round out the museum.
The Geology Museum at the
Colorado School of Mines
Corner of 13th and Maple Street
Golden, 80401; 303-273-3815
www.mines.edu/Geology_Museum
Got rocks? This museum is home to one of
the state’s two Goodwill moon rocks collected
during the Apollo 17 mission. Started in
1874, the museum displays mineral, fossil,
gemstone, meteorite and historic mining artifact exhibits. Visitors can tour a reconstructed
underground gold mine.
Golden History Center
923 10th St., Golden, 80401; 303-278-7151
www.goldenpioneermuseum.org
The Golden History Center (formerly
known as the Golden Pioneer Museum)
was founded in 1938 and houses artifacts from nearby archeological sites and
pioneer days with emphasis on the years
1859 – 1930. Learn the history of Golden
through exhibits, a photo gallery, and
community events.
History Colorado Center
1200 Broadway, Denver, 80203
303-866-3682; www.historycolorado.org
History Colorado—formerly the Colorado
Historical Society—has worked for more
than 130 years to preserve and protect Colorado’s history. The organization opened the
stunning LEED-certified History Colorado
Center in 2012 in downtown’s museum
district. The new museum offers permanent
and constantly changing exhibits that tell
Colorado’s history, from its earliest inhabitants to its pioneer families through detailed
dioramas, historic photographs, artifacts and
documents—plus special programs, galleries
and exhibits on life in the American West.
The museum is also home to an archaeological and historic preservation library with a
unique collection of Native American and
Colorado arts and crafts.
Hiwan Homestead Museum
4208 S. Timbervale Drive
Evergreen, 80439; 303-674-6262
www.jchscolorado.org/museum.html
The vibrant history of Jefferson County
comes to life at Hiwan Homestead
Museum, a Colorado rustic architectural
classic that evolved from a one-room cabin
built in 1892 to a magnificent, 25-room
log lodge, listed on the National Register
of Historic Places in 1974. Hiwan Homestead Museum became the first Open
Space Park in 1973. Tour the lodge, view
an exhibit, or attend an event such as the
Outdoor Quilt Festival.
Kirkland Museum of Fine &
Decorative Art
1311 Pearl St., Denver, 80203
303-832-8575; www.kirklandmuseum.org
Kirkland Museum has one of the most
important public displays of international decorative art in North America,
from about 1875 to about 1990. More
than 3,500 works are on view of Arts
& Crafts, Aesthetic, Art Nouveau,
Glasgow Style, Wiener Werkstätte, De
Stijl, Bauhaus, Art Deco, Modern, Pop
Art and Postmodern. In this extensive
collection, the works of more than 80
architects are on view. A major survey
of Colorado art and some regional art is
also documented, with over 650 works
by more than 200 artists shown at any
one time. Additionally, The museum
shows a retrospective of Colorado’s
distinguished painter, Vance Kirkland
(1904-1981). In addition to its three
collections, the way Kirkland Museum is
displayed gives it a noticeably different
atmosphere than most other museums.
The art is arranged in “salon style” with
fine art (paintings and sculpture) shown
in the same galleries with decorative
art. No children under the age of 13 are
allowed in the museum.
