Introduction:

Museums In Denver Colorado though its abundance of outdoor leisure options may be the first thing most foreign visitors think of when they think of Denver. The city’s impressive collection of top-notch museums could be its best-kept secret. 

These range from the former residences of well-known people to pieces of art by esteemed artists to immersive art experiences.

The museums in Denver are a great way to learn about the history and culture of the city if you’re looking for things to do. These museums are on your list of things to do.

The Anschutz Collection at the American Museums In Denver Colorado of Western Art

Museums In Denver Colorado local entrepreneur Philip Anschutz, whose companies include oil, telecommunications, and real estate, and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus bears his name, has devoted fifty years to the collection of Western Art, which he and his family have made public.

The collection spans two centuries and includes works by American expeditionary painters, landscape painters, American story painters, modernist painters, regionalism painters, and more.

Is kept in the historic Navarre Building, a former saloon from the 1880s. Make a note of the hours, which are just Monday through Friday, and make ahead plans. For a genuinely legendary Denver day, add high tea at the Brown Palace Hotel across the street.

Locate it: 303-293-2000; American Museum of Western Art, 1727 Tremont Place, Denver, CO 80202

Denver Children’s Museums In Denver Colorado at Marsico Campus

The Children’s Museums In Denver Colorado of Denver, which aims to entertain even the youngest visitors, has 20 permanent exhibits that promote interaction and educational programming in STEM, Health, Literacy, and the Arts. 

These exhibits are based on the groundbreaking theory of children’s psychologist Jean Piaget, which holds that children learn through play and hands-on experiences.

Kids can play outside, create art, build things out of recycled materials, make bubbles, splash in the water, learn about nature and wildlife, shop at a market, be a firefighter, be a veterinarian, and ‘cook’ in a kitchen on the 9-acre site.

Location: 2121 Children’s Museum Drive, Denver, CO 80211; phone: 303-433-7444; Children’s Museum of Denver

Museum of Clyfford Stills

Museums In Denver Colorado according to the terms of the abstract expressionist painter Clyfford Still’s will, a community must agree to host a permanent museum showcasing exclusively his artwork. 

The result is the 28,500-square-foot Clyfford Still Museum, which showcases the 3,125-piece collection of Still’s paintings, drawings, and prints against a minimalist, concrete design.

It’s a terrific spot to engage with the artist’s large-scale abstract works and unique style; in fact, it served as inspiration for a children’s book, “Colourfully Courageous Clyfford Still,” which paired author Jason Gruhl with artist Jonathan Saiz of Denver.

Locate it: 1250 Bannock St., Denver, CO 80204; 720-354-4880; Clyfford Still Museum

Denver Museum of Art

The Denver Art Museums In Denver Colorado (DAM), one of the biggest art museums between Chicago and California, welcomes almost a million visitors annually and is home to over 70,000 pieces of art and artifacts.

Its collections feature works by African, Asian, and Latin American artists as well as one of the strongest Indigenous art collections in the nation and an extensive collection of Western American art. 

Highlights of the DAM’s marquee collection include pieces by Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Warhol, and O’Keeffe, in addition to unique touring exhibitions. 

Children always enter free of charge, and there are lots of programs and activities aimed at interacting with, investigating, and producing art.

Make plans to explore all day and stop for lunch at The Ponti, which is led by local chef Jennifer Jasinski, a James Beard Award winner.

Locate it: 720-865-5000; Denver Art Museum, 100 West 14th Ave. Parkway, Denver, CO 80204

Denver Natural History and Science Museum

Museums In Denver Colorado similar to the events of “Night at the Museum,” Denver’s Centre for Natural History and Science presents temporary and permanent exhibitions, programs, and activities that bring these subjects to life.

Explore the museum’s one million+ objects, which include dinosaur skeletons, anthropological displays of Egyptian mummies and Indigenous cultures, and dioramas featuring animals and their habitats. 

And more, to learn about the natural history of Colorado, the Earth, and the universe. In addition to interactive displays about space and the human body, the entrance features a famous saber-tooth tiger that roars when given coins.

Location: Denver Museum of Nature and Science; 303-370-6000; 2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO 80205

Kirkland Museum of Fine Arts and Design

In addition to being the creator of an art school, a professor of art, and a painter with a fifty-year career spanning many styles (most notably his distinctive dot paintings), Denver artist Vance Kirkland was also a collector of foreign decorative arts and Colorado artists’ creations.

Built-in 1910 and moved from Pearl Street to its current location in 2016, the Kirkland Museum combines new and modern construction with its historic studio.

It houses the Decorative Arts collection, which includes works from 1875 to 1990, more than 7,000 works by Colorado artists from 1820 to 1990, and Kirkland’s own works, which are displayed salon-style.

Locate it: Denver, CO 80204; 303-832-8576; Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, 1202 Bannock St.

Meow Wolf: Station of Convergence

Convergence Station is the Denver location of Meow Wolf, an odd and wacky immersive art collective.

 It is the sister museum of the House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe and Omega Mart in Las Vegas.

Meow Wolf’s largest building is a three-story, 90,000-square-foot colossus located between the Interstate 25 and Colfax Avenue viaducts. Showcasing the creations of one hundred regional artists, it encompasses the fields of architecture, sculpture, photography, painting, video, music, costumes, and theatre. 

The idea that Earth is an interdimensional transport hub connecting the Convergence of Worlds is embraced by a number of displays.

You can engage with artscapes that can only be defined as mind-bending and hallucinogenic, providing a complete escape from reality.

Convergence Station, 1338 1st St., Denver, CO 80204; 866-636-9969 is where you can find Meow Wolf.

Denver Museums In Denver Colorado of Contemporary Art

Denver’s home for contemporary art, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (MCA), was founded in 1996, and every visit is unique.

It moved into a 27,000-square-foot environmentally friendly structure in the Platte Valley in 2007. Its displays rotate every few months rather than having any permanent collections. 

The Museums In Denver Colorado rooftop bar hosts two weekly events 

Mixed Taste, a lecture series that mashes together disparate topics (think Jackie Robinson and the Belle Epoque), and Black Sheep Fridays, a quiz night that meets art. 

The 400-seat Holiday Theatre on 32nd, which houses MCA’s satellite, hosts films and other creative events.

Locate it: 303-298-7554; Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, 1485 Delgany St., Denver, CO 80202