The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is a municipal natural history and science museum in Denver, Colorado. It is a resource for informal science education in the Rocky Mountain region. A variety of exhibitions, programs, and activities help museum visitors learn about the natural history of Colorado, Earth, and the universe. The 500,000-square-foot (46,452 m2) building houses more than one million objects in its collections including natural history and anthropological materials, as well as archival and library resources.
The Museum is an independent, nonprofit institution with approximately 350 full-time and part-time staff, more than 1,600 volunteers, and a 25-member Board of Trustees. It is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM)[3] and is a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate.
Education programs[]
The Museum provides programming in six main areas. The exhibitions, IMAX films, lectures, classes, and programs pertain to one or more of the following core competencies:
- Anthropology
- Geology
- Health Science
- Paleontology
- Space Science
- Zoology
More than 178,000 students and teachers visit the Museum with school groups each year. In addition, the Museum has science outreach programs and distance–learning opportunities for families, schools and surrounding communities.[4] The Museum also offers teachers ongoing professional training workshops.
History[]
Founded in 1900, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science is located in Denver’s City Park and has views of Denver and the Rocky Mountains. The Museum has had three different names since it first opened: The Colorado Museum of Natural History, The Denver Museum of Natural History, and now the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
The Museum traces its origins back to the efforts of one man, a pioneer naturalist named Edwin Carter who devoted his life to the scientific study of Colorado birds, mammals and fauna. Since 1900, the museum collection has grown from Carter’s collection, housed in a log cabin, to a museum housing more than a million objects in its collections.[1] Another man instrumental in developing the museum's collection through the mid 20th century was Dr Alfred Marshall Bailey, who served as Director from 1936 to 1969.
The Museum is known for its children’s discovery areas, the Space Odyssey exhibition, Gates Planetarium, the Prehistoric Journey exhibition, IMAX films, Egyptian mummies, wildlife exhibits, colorful gems and minerals, Expedition Health exhibition, temporary exhibitions, and education programs. Visitors can also experience the “best view in Denver” from the Anschutz Family Sky Terrace and Leprino Family Atrium on the west side of the building. Here, visitors see views of the Front Range, from Longs Peak in the north to Pikes Peak in the south.
The museum is partially funded by the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), which was created by area voters in 1988.