Denver Museum Of Nature & Science

When The Cataclysm Struck

Denver Museum Of Nature And Science Reopens To Public

Sixty-six million years ago, a meteorite larger than Mount Everest slammed into Earth. This was the single worst day for life on our planet, when 75 percent of species went extinct in a geologic blink of an eye.

Obviously, the planet and living creatures rebounded. Humans are testament to the recovery of life. But how did it happen? For decades, scientists have tried to squeeze every bit of data possible out of the rocks from the first million years after the dinosaur extinction. But, the results of over 100 years of hammering away are just fragments of teeth, an occasional jaw, and an ultra-rare skull once every few decades. As a consequence, we dont know much about the mammals that survived. Until now.

The discovery of an extraordinary treasure trove of fossils near Colorado Springs by Drs. Tyler Lyson and Ian Miller reveals in striking detail how life recovered after the catastrophic asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Their new research, published in Science magazine, paints a vivid portrait of the first million years after the impact.

Enterprise Scalability Provides For Today And Tomorrow

Moving forward, the Museum is considering ways to further tap Arubas enterprise scalability. This could include adopting mobile engagement options, such as Arubas Meridian Mobile App Platform and Aruba Beacons. These technologies can augment visitor services, offer turn-by-turn directions to amenities and contribute proximity-aware interactivity.

With proximity awareness, we could present interactive features to guests as they encounter an exhibit, says Rehfuss. Also, by combining traffic flow analytics and wayfinding technologies, we could guide visitors to under-utilized areas of the Museum in real-time.

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1555 California St., Denver, CO 80202

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Significant Initiatives And Legislation Enacted In Colorado

In 1881 Colorado voters approved a referendum that selected as the .

Colorado was the first state in the union to enact, by voter referendum, to women. That initiative was approved by the states voters on November 7, 1893.

On the November 8, 1932, ballot, Colorado approved the more than a year before the was ratified.

Colorado has banned, via C.R.S. section 12-6-302, the sale of motor vehicles on Sunday since at least 1953.

In 1972 Colorado voters rejected a to fund the , which had been scheduled to be held in the state. Denver had been chosen by the as host city on May 12, 1970.

In 1992, by a margin of 53 to 47 percent, Colorado voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that would have prevented any city, town, or county in the state from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to recognize homosexuals or bisexuals as a . In 1996, in a 63 ruling in , the U.S. Supreme Court found that preventing protected status based upon homosexuality or did not satisfy the .

In 2006 voters passed Amendment 43, which purported to ban gay marriage in Colorado. That initiative was nullified by the s 2015 decision in .

In 2012, voters amended the state constitution protecting personal use of marijuana for adults, establishing a framework to regulate in a manner similar to . The first recreational marijuana shops in Colorado, and by extension the United States, opened their doors on January 1, 2014.

Please Dont Stomp The Elf Denver Museum Of Nature And Science Jan 3 2017

Denver Museum of Nature and Science Michael Criswell Photography ...

Theres one more near running water, and a couple of the most fearless of these little men walk with the dinosaurs. Kieckhafur insisted that the best of Pendletons little buddies can be found in prehistoric times.

But weve exposed enough already.

You can go searching for yourselves at 2001 Colorado Blvd. any day of the week between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Admission is $11.95 for kids 3-18, $13.95 for seniors 65 and older and $16.95 for all other adults. Check this schedule for days when admission is free.

You can also find Pendletons work at the Denver Zoo, as well as visitors centers and museums around the country including the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science in Albuquerque, the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne and the Loveland Museum Gallery here in Colorado.

And, yes, he says you can find his artistic signature in some of those places, too.

Heres an especially tough one for practice:

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Things To Know Before You Go

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is ideal for families with children and all natural science fans.
Lockers are available for a nominal fee just outside the main entrance.
A café on the ground floor is open 11am to 2pm with grab-and-go items available throughout museum hours.
The museum is accessible to wheelchairs and strollers. These as well as canes are available at the information desk.
The museum has resources for guests with autism and sensory needsask about braille maps, noise-reducing headphones, assisted listening devices, and more.

The Light Bulb Moment

A monumental breakthrough occurred in 2016 when Lyson and Miller concentrated their efforts in an area called Corral Bluffs. They believed this Denver Basin locale showed promise because a handful of relatively complete vertebrate fossils had been found there over the decades.

So, they set their eyes to the ground, looking for bits of bone, the way they were trained to find fossils. They came up with only fragments.

However, Lyson was convinced they werent keying in on the right material, perhaps not seeing what was right in front of their noses. He recalled his fossil hunting experience with South African colleagues in the deserts of the Karoo, where the key to finding fossils was not searching for bone fragments but for a particular kind of rock called a concretion.

So what if the team searched Corral Bluffs for concretions instead of the usual bone? It was the light bulb moment that changed the game completely.

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Looking Toward New Types Of Mobile Engagement

Moving forward, the Museum can further tap Arubas enterprise scalability. This could include adopting mobile engagement technologies, such as Arubas Meridian Mobile App Platform and Aruba Beacons. These technologies can augment visitor services, offer turn-by-turn directions to amenities and provide proximity-aware interactivity.

Quality, seamless Wi-Fi experiences for all

Today, the Museums staff, contractors and visitors enjoy uninterrupted, high-quality, secure mobile experiences wherever they work or roam. And, its all possible without added burdens to the organizations IT staff.

Whether its exhibits, research, events or day-to-day operations, were becoming more dependent on wireless connectivity, Rehfuss says. With our Aruba system, and its enterprise toolsets, we can ensure its all seamless to our mobile users.

Unified management for wireless and wired

Dmns Ambassador Linda Kozlowski Holds Up A Guide To Finding Hidden Gnomes Around The Museum Denver Museum Of Nature And Science Jan 3 2017

The Rough Life of SUE the T. rex

You might at first look think the clues look a little too helpful. I know we did. But trust us when we say youll be glad you have some guidance. I have perfect vision and I had a tough time spotting Pendletons creations, even with pretty explicit directions, and you dont want to be painstakingly searching the backgrounds of every single diorama.

I never really made them easy to find because I didnt want to detract from the exhibits, Pendleton said.

The little dude at the top of this story is probably the most well-known at the museum, though hes not one of Pendletons creations. As museum ambassador Drew Kieckhafur explained to us, staff hid some gnomes figurines throughout the museum to add to the game theyd created around Pendletons work.

One of the other figurines, which Kieckhafur correctly called the ugliest, is hiding on the surface of Mars. Hes hard to spot, but as with all of these, I wont ruin your fun with explicit directions.

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Twin Towns Sister Cities

Denvers relationship with , began in 1948, making it the second-oldest in the United States. In 1947, Amanda Knecht, a teacher at East High School, visited World War II-ravaged Brest. When she returned, she shared her experiences in the city with her students, and her class raised $32,000 to help rebuild the childrens wing of Brests hospital. The gift led to the development of the sister city program with Brest. There were serious efforts in the early 2000s, in both Denver and , , to establish sister-city ties, but the negotiations did not come to fruition.

Since then, Denver has established relationships with additional sister cities:

When You Visit The Museum

When you visit the Museum, you will play a role in creating a safe place for everyone to enjoy. We are asking guests to take the following steps to help protect themselves and ensure the best possible experience for everyone:

Masks are encouraged for everyone visiting the Museum
Stay home and enjoy a Museum visit another day if you are not feeling well.

Robust Hardware With Centralized Management Tools

With the assistance of local partner Accuvant, the Museum selected and installed Arubas indoor and outdoor access points and 7200 Series Mobility Controllers. Plus, the Museum adopted Arubas vendor-agnostic tools: ClearPass, for network access control, and AirWave, for management and Wi-Fi optimization.

Standardizing on 802.11ac

Most recently, the Museum began standardizing on Gigabit Wi-Fi by adding 802.11ac-enabled equipment in key locations, including the new outdoor AP-277 to supply cost-effective access for staff and guests.

Deploying the AP-277 gave our staff tablet-based capabilities for checking in summer camp attendees, Rehfuss says. Now, parents dont even need to leave their cars, smoothing drop-offs and improving experiences. Plus it was fast and easy to install.

Entrance Ticket Details For Denver Museum Of Nature And Science

If you would like to explore all the facilities, then ticket prices will differ.
Adult from $14.95 to $22.95 Junior from $9.95 to $14.95 Senior from $11.95 to $18.95.
Admission Packages: Adult from $21.95 to $26.95 Junior from $15.95 to $19.95 Senior from $17.95 to $21.95.
Students with a valid ID can avail a discount of 10% off general tickets.
All military personnel with a valid ID will be allowed a free entry to museum.
Group reservations done 10 days prior will receive a 10% discount.
Buy tickets online to book educational tours.
Alternatively, you can buy tickets online, over a phone or at the museum.
Free days, where every visitor is allowed an entry without any charge. Free days for the year 2015 are January 25, March 2, April 12, April 25, May 31, June 29, July 26, August 17, September 27, October 19, November 9.

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North American Indian Cultures

Shelter. Food. Clothing. Tools. Experience the incredible diversity among Native American groups and the practicality and artistry of their everyday objects.We are all different, we are all the same is the thread running through this exhibition hall. Shelter, food, clothing, transportation, tools-all are basic human needs satisfied in different ways by different cultures. Among North America’s native peoples, the rich diversity in traditional and modern lifeways reflects the distinctive regional influences of environment and materials.

As you travel through the various regions you can explore authentic reconstructed dwellings, including an Inuit snow house, a Northwest Coast clan house, a Navajo hogan, and a Cheyenne tipi. Along the way, examine beautifully crafted weavings, basketry, beadwork, and pottery. Stop to listen to stories and watch videos on the major cultural groups.

Denver Museum Of Nature And Science And Its Collection

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 716,000-square-foot 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 1,800 volunteers, and a 25-member board of trustees. It is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is a Smithsonian Institution affiliate .

Nature & Natural History

Combining Clearpass With Airwave Optimizes Wi

For maintaining overall WLAN health, the Museum also appreciates the seamless integration of ClearPass and AirWave. Like ClearPass, AirWave unifies multivendor network management by lending extraordinary visibility into each AP on the network.

Together, the solutions also provide speedy issue diagnosis and troubleshooting. When were investigating device authentication issues, we begin with the ClearPass Access Tracker, explains Rehfuss.

From there, we can automatically launch AirWave to help drill down to a problems source, he adds. Such granular troubleshooting was non-existent, before.

Morgridge Family Exploration Center And Avenir Collections Facility

Denver Museum Of Nature And Science Has Big Plans For Anonymous $25 Million Donation

In 2014, a $70 million addition was added to the museum containing the Morgridge Family Exploration Center and the Avenir Collections Center.

The Morgridge Family Exploration Center constitutes three above-ground levels that encourage visitors to learn about science and the natural world. The center includes Exploration Studios, a new temporary exhibition gallery, an atrium space, a completely-redeveloped Discovery Zone for early learners, and the outdoor, Boettcher Plaza with unique public art.

The Avenir Collections Center, part of a $70 million expansion in 2007, is a climate-controlled facility devoted to housing for nearly 1.5 million artifacts and specimens. The facility includes 63,000 square feet in two underground levels, and holds specimens such as bison from the 1870s, passenger pigeons, the last grizzly bear to be killed in Colorado in 1979, and roadkill brought in by the public. The data from these specimens is placed in online databases, and linked to public databases, like BioPortal.

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A Gnome Is Hidden Under An Escalator At The Denver Museum Of Nature And Science Jan 3 2017

Gather round, Denver, and settle on in. Today well tell you a tale of adventure a mystical quest for elusive creatures unknown.

With full bellies, literature and a camera in hand, and the twinkle of curiosity in our eyes, we set out to see something wed neer before seen.

What I mean is that we ate some Mexican food and spent an hour in the Denver Museum of Nature & Science looking for hidden elves in the displays.

If you already know about this, forgive us. You can leave, I guess, or you can stick with us for a whimsical jaunt.

We here at Denverite just learned that Kent Pendleton, the artist responsible for the backgrounds of some exhibits, painted elves into the scenery. Naturally, we wanted to go looking for them ourselves, so Kevin and I set out on the hunt.

But before we embark on this journey, lets get two things out of the way.

There is some debate as to what Pendletons creations actually are. The museums guide calls them elves. The Denverite staff, on the other hand, agrees that they look like gnomes. So, we gave Pendleton a ring.

I started out calling them leprechauns, but I think the style kind of evolved into elves, so either word is appropriate there. Maybe, technically, theyre not really leprechauns.

Elves, leprechauns and gnomes are neither nature nor science. We know. The museum knows. Please just enjoy a nice thing.

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Pervasive Mobility And Pci Compliance Too

Overall, the benefits from the Museums Wi-Fi modernization are significant, starting with pervasive mobility for increasingly #GenMobile constituencies. #GenMobile are todays new breed of tech-savvy mobile device users.

Previously, we only offered guest access to contractor groups, Rehfuss says. Now, we provide secure connectivity to individual contractors, as well as more than 1.3 million Museum visitors annually.

Additionally, enterprise Wi-Fi has improved the Museums compliance with regulations, such as PCI. Securing our network from rogue access points is a PCI requirement, says Rehfuss. Arubas alerting capabilities help us keep rogues from connecting, which is a positive for network performance as well as compliance.

Enabling Science on a Sphere

According to Rehfuss, visitor and research experiences are also enhanced by the updated network. For example, in our Space Odyssey exhibit we have whats called Science on a Sphere, he says. There, docents use a tablet to manage the exhibit, making reliable Wi-Fi essential to fully engaging the public.

Whats more, the Museums research in anthropology, earth sciences, health sciences, space sciences and zoology also benefits from Wi-Fi connectivity, Rehfuss says.

Uninterrupted Experiences Wherever Users Roam

Whether its exhibits, research, events or day-to-day operations, were becoming more dependent on wireless connectivity, Rehfuss says. With Aruba and ClearPass, we can efficiently and effectively ensure its all seamless to our mobile users.

Fast, secure access for all users & devices
Robust tools for WLAN control & optimization
Centralized, scalable policy management & Wi-Fi

Denver Museum Of Nature And Science Jan 3 2017

It was just kind of my own little private joke, Pendleton said. The first one was so small that hardly anyone could see it, but it sort of escalated over time, I guess. Some of the museum volunteers picked up on it and it developed a life of its own.

So, first things first, we got ourselves a guide. The information desk in the entryway of the museum on the right past the ticket desks has clue sheets that tell you which exhibits are hiding elves, leprechauns and gnomes, and generally where they are within.

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