History Colorado Center
4.6(3.2K)google
4.0(193)yelp
EducationalFamilyHistoryIndoorInteractive
Overview
The History Colorado Center is a museum in Denver, Colorado, US, dedicated to the history of the state of Colorado. Construction on the $111 million building started on August 19, 2009. The museum opened on 28 April 2012 at 1200 Broadway, one block south of the site of its predecessor, the Colorado History Museum, which closed in 2010.
Practical Info
Every day10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Suggested Duration2-3 hours
Best TimeYear-round indoor educational landmark. Visiting between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM is highly favorable. As an experiential museum detailing the state's rugged mining boom and indigenous history, morning hours allow ample space to interact with the massive digital push-map floor and cinematic multi-media installations.
Getting ThereSituated in the Golden Triangle Creative District at 1200 Broadway. From downtown Denver, ride the free MallRide to the end of the mall, then transfer to the southbound RTD Bus Route 0 and exit directly at the Broadway & 12th Ave stop. The museum's striking modern glass facade sits right behind the stop.
Travel Tips
- Sensitive tribal textile matrices enforce strict zero-lux flash photography limitations museum-wide; deploying speedlights or heavy extended camera mono-stands inside the historical vaults is forbidden.
- The facility features zero private garage infrastructure; eliminate urban alignment friction by routing directly into the covered Cultural Center Complex Garage located safely across the Broadway avenue grid.
- Localized simulation modules gridlock heavily during weekday regional school field trip windows from 10:00 to 13:00; charting your museum itinerary track after 14:00 guarantees zero-delay station interactions.
Reviews
Positive
- A high-tech history hub featuring a giant atrium floor map with moveable electronic scanners for an amazing interactive experience.
- The dark gold-mine simulation and vintage ski jump simulators creatively transform history into a fun, hands-on adventure.
- The museum accessibility is textbook-perfect; hallways are broad, signs are bold, and multimedia cares well for seniors.
- It takes an academic look at native histories and the Sand Creek Massacre with high research integrity and reflective integrity.
Heads up
- The museum lacks a dedicated free parking lot; visitors are forced into expensive downtown parking garages, adding to the day's cost.
- Due to high-volume use by kids, some high-tech electronic displays occasionally freeze or suffer from glitchy touchscreens.
- The curatorial layout skews heavily toward elementary school edutainment, which might feel slightly juvenile for academic history buffs.
- The internal cafe has a sparse weekday lunch menu consisting mainly of pre-packaged cold wraps; no hot meal options inside.