Events

Women & Children at Work & Play
Artist’s talk and reception

A friendly snowball fight during the blizzard of 1913; Berry pickers at the Truelson Berry Farm; Riding burros beneath South Table Mountain. These are some of the historic images that inspired artist Melinda Laz’s current series of ceramic tiles on view at the Golden History Museum’s gallery Oct 16, 2021 – Feb 6, 2022. Using the museum’s online photograph collection as inspiration, Melinda translated the vintage photographs into ceramic tile portraits. The faces are left blank, allowing the figures to remain anonymous yet universal. The original photographs that inspired her ceramic works will also be on view.

Join Melinda on Saturday, November 6, from 2 – 4 pm for an artist’s talk and reception. She’ll discuss her inspiration and process for creating these works. Refreshments will be served.

Melinda Laz holds a BFA in printmaking from Washington University in St. Louis, MO; a MA in Arts Administration from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and a MA in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Denver. Melinda has mounted several critically acclaimed solo exhibitions and has appeared in numerous national juried and invitational shows. She works as the Outreach Education Manager at Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and teaches art in the Denver Public Schools. She lives in Golden, CO with her husband and daughter.

Location and Pricing

Golden History Museum

2 – 4 pm; drop in anytime

Free for all; no registration

Membership

Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.

More Golden history

Check out the Golden History Museum & Park blog for the latest behind the scenes videos and stories, personal memoirs, and history tidbits about Golden.

Seesaw: How November ’42 Shaped the Future

This is a hybrid event: virtual + in-person. Register on eventbrite.

Partially completed airstrip on the island of Guadalcanal, Aug. 11, 1942. Half a year of fighting took place over this tiny bit of acreage in the South Pacific.

By late 1942 the world had been fighting for years, with no end in sight. The five weeks from late October to early December saw campaigns, battles and developments which decisively turned the war to the Allies’ favor. Author and returning presenter, Stan Moore takes a fresh look at the personalities and events that led up to this critical period. He then examines five campaigns around the world through the month of November. Moore also discusses how the campaigns and events are inter-related in new and interesting ways. His sources are interviews, oral histories and previously unavailable diaries, photos, and letters.

About the presenter: Stan Moore

Stan Moore is a husband, father, and grandfather; a third generation Coloradan; a graduate of the University of Colorado; an author and historian; a Vietnam veteran; a retired small business owner; an amateur blacksmith, and an avid mountaineer, backpacker and desert rat. Moore and his wife make their home near Denver with a cat that lets them stay there. More information can be found at stanmoorewriter.com.

Pricing

Free for members; $10 plus online registration fee for non-members

Membership

Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.

More Golden history

Check out the Golden History Museum & Park blog for the latest behind the scenes videos and stories, personal memoirs, and history tidbits about Golden.

Homestead for the Holidays

Advance registration via eventbrite is required. 

Join us at the Golden History Park to experience holidays the pioneer way. This family event allows you to stroll through the Golden History Park, take in the colorful lights, try a craft, and bask in the season. It’s time to go home(stead) for the holidays!

Details

All event revenue goes to the Golden History Museum & Park. We appreciate your support!

Members (ages 5 years old and above): $5

Non-members (ages 5 years old and above): $10

Kids (ages 4 years old and below): Free

Get your tickets now

Membership

Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.

More Golden history

Check out the Golden History Museum & Park blog for the latest behind the scenes videos and stories, personal memoirs, and history tidbits about Golden.

Golden: Then & Now

In-person event. Register on eventbrite.

“Then,” for the most part, is the last quarter of the 19th Century; “now” is the first half of 2021. While perusing historical photos of Golden online, Stuart Sipkin came across a collection of photos that were mostly taken during the last quarter of the 19th Century. The variety and number of photos were perfect for a project he had been thinking about for a while – trying to recreate historical photos as precisely as possible in the modern day. Given the changes in the urban landscape, finding the exact location that the original photographer stood to take each photo was sometimes easy, but sometimes quite challenging. Join us at the museum to learn how Stuart used modern mapping and Geographic Information Systems to determine some of these locations and see the finished images of Golden’s changing landscape.

About the presenter: Stuart Sipkin

After working for the U.S. Geological Survey as a Research Geophysicist for 30+ years, Stuart retired to pursue a second career in photography. For the last dozen years, he has worked as a freelance photojournalist representing several European news agencies. While many of his photos have been licensed for use in print and online publications around the world, his likely most viewed photo appeared in Hillary Clinton’s book “What Happened.” Since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic, he has been scaling back professional activities to devote more time to personal projects.

Pricing

Free for members; $10 plus online registration fee for non-members

Membership

Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.

More Golden history

Check out the Golden History Museum & Park blog for the latest behind the scenes videos and stories, personal memoirs, and history tidbits about Golden.

Getting Started – Tracing Your Family Tree

In-person event. Register on eventbrite.

Overwhelmed by all of the tools that are available to do genealogy research? Can’t get your brain wrapped around how to get started and wish someone would explain the basics and help? Join genealogy research enthusiast Lora Knowlton as she presents all of the basics to get started. She will review Ancestry, Family Search and other helpful tools. Bring your laptop and be prepared to start your family tree. If you don’t have a laptop, no worries! Lora will still help you get started.

About the presenter: Lora Knowlton

Lora Knowlton is owner of Current Events LLC, an event management business specializing in outdoor festivals and events. She’s also the Programs & Events Manager for the Golden Chamber of Commerce. Lora’s mom caught the genealogy bug when Lora was in high school and ever since, Lora has heard all of the many stories about their family members. About 5 years ago, Lora caught the bug – and now spends whatever time in between events looking for long lost ancestors for family and friends. During COVID, she completed the Boston University’s Genealogical Principles online course. Lora is a founding member of the Columbine Memorial Foundation, is the chair of the Meetings Industry Council and serves on the board of directors for her radio-controlled airplane club – the Jefco Aeromod’lers RC Club at Chatfield State Park.

Pricing

Free for members; $10 plus online registration fee for non-members

Membership

Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.

More Golden history

Check out the Golden History Museum & Park blog for the latest behind the scenes videos and stories, personal memoirs, and history tidbits about Golden.

Cannon Ball Creek, Coors, and Kayaks: A History of Water in Golden, Colorado

“Golden, Colorado, and Entrance to Clear Creek Canon [sic], from Castle Rock Mountain Scenic Incline Railway. Denver Mountain Parks.”

In-person event. Register on eventbrite.

Even people from Tonapah, Nevada know that Golden, Colorado is home to Coors Brewery, and that Coors is so good because it is brewed with “Rocky Mountain water.” In the American popular mind Golden is linked to fresh, clean water. Our job, over the course of an evening together, will be to try and trace the history of water in Golden from the earliest days of native use to Euro-American trapping, irrigation farming, and eventually the creation of a kayak park and tubers’ paradise. The conversation will be set against the larger backdrop of the present drought in the American West that underscores the importance of Clear Creek and fresh water for the future of Golden.

About the presenter: Matthew S. Makley

Matthew S. Makley, PhD, is a Professor of History at Metropolitan State University of Denver. He is the author of two books. His most recent, The Small Shall be Strong: A History of Lake Tahoe’s Washoe Indians (2018), won an American Library Association’s award for “Outstanding Academic Title.” Born and raised at Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Makley has lived in Golden since 2007. While his heart is in the canyons and valleys of the Sierra Nevada, he has come to call Colorado and the Rockies home.

Pricing

Free for members; $10 plus online registration fee for non-members

Membership

Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.

More Golden history

Check out the Golden History Museum & Park blog for the latest behind the scenes videos and stories, personal memoirs, and history tidbits about Golden.

Golden – Colorado’s Territorial Capital

In-person event. Register on eventbrite.

Join returning presenter Randi Samuelson-Brown to uncover the stories of the Golden of yesteryear when the west was wild and the population was scarce. We examine some of the famous/infamous that passed through the town with an eye toward the off-kilter inhabitants.

About the presenter: Randi Samuelson-Brown

Randi Samuelson-Brown is the author of The Beaten Territory (Colorado Historical Fiction) and The Bad Old Days of Colorado: Untold Stories of the Wild West (finalist of the Colorado Book Awards 2021 – History). Originally from Golden, Colorado, Randi has always been passionately interested in Colorado history. A C-SPAN author, she now lives in Denver. One of the best parts about publishing books for her is sharing Colorado’s little-known history and speaking at museums, libraries, and book clubs.

Pricing

Free for members; $10 plus online registration fee for non-members

Membership

Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.

More Golden history

Check out the Golden History Museum & Park blog for the latest behind the scenes videos and stories, personal memoirs, and history tidbits about Golden.

Isabella Bird’s Visit to Colorado

In-person event with costumed interpretation. Register on eventbrite.

Isabella Bird was a traveler and a writer with a wonderful ability to describe her surroundings in great detail so that one feels as if they were there. Come hear about Isabella’s lively adventures on her first trip to Estes Park in 1873 and of her arduous climb of Longs Peak (she was the third woman ever to climb Longs Peak) as well as of her romance with the rogue, Rocky Mountain Jim. She was dazzled by the Rocky Mountains and enthralled by the “blue hollow at the foot of Longs Peak” – Estes Park – which is written about in her book, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains.

Costumed Interpretation

About the presenter: Linda Batlin

Linda Batlin is a storyteller and author from Boulder, Colorado where she has lived for over half of her life. She enjoys sharing her love of the mountains and of Colorado with audiences. She tells stories filled with wisdom and mirth for all ages in schools, libraries, festivals, museums, senior centers, campfires and other events. Her entertaining and educational living history presentations of important women characters from Colorado history such as Isabella Bird bring them to life and are often requested. Her repertoire is also filled with multicultural folktales from around the world such as nature stories, Asian stories, animal stories, ghost stories, Jewish folktales, puppets, etc. She is a member of the National Storytelling Network.

Pricing

$5 for members; $10 plus online registration fee for non-members

Membership

Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.

More Golden history

Check out the Golden History Museum & Park blog for the latest behind the scenes videos and stories, personal memoirs, and history tidbits about Golden.

Autumn Fest 2022

Ever wonder what makes Golden so special? Well, it’s you of course! At Golden History Museum & Park, we feel grateful to have such a wonderful community to serve. Come join us at our first Autumn Fest to celebrate all of the things that make Golden a bright and shining community.

Rush down to the Golden History Museum (923 10th St.) from 10-3 for a packed afternoon of fun, proudly sponsored by:

Golden Downtown Development Authority

Golden Kids Dental and Orthodontics

Free Family Activities

• incredible chalk art
• hourly puppet shows (plus hands-on stations to make your own show)
• 4-H petting zoo
• craft stations
• BIG TRUCKS (Streets, Fire, and Police Departments)
• costumed Civil War interpretation
• karate demonstration
• hands-on paper-making station

Other Fun

• Westernaires pony rides ($3 per ride)
• CODA Brewing Company beer garden 

The best part? It’s fun for the whole family and a great way to welcome the fall season. Now that is just pure gold.

Partners

• Colorado Volunteer Infantry Group
• Westernaires
• 4-H
• GoFarm
• Mines Museum of Earth Science
• Coda Brewing Company
• Golden Library
• Foothills Art Center
• Golden Street, Police, and Fire Departments
• Public Art Commission
• Lane Academy of Martial Arts

Sponsors

Location and Pricing

Golden History Museum and Golden History Park

Free

Registration

Unlike most GHM&P programs, there is no registration for Autumn Fest.

Membership

Membership pays for itself with just a few programs for your family. Join us.

More Golden history

Check out the Golden History Museum & Park blog for the latest behind the scenes videos and stories, personal memoirs, and history tidbits about Golden.