response-covid-19
Virtual Programming
Limited open hours
For the health and well being of our visitors, volunteers and staff, Golden History Museum is offering limited open hours due to COVID-19 concerns. All public programs and outreach will be postponed and rescheduled. Read more about the phased re-opening plan here.
What can you do from home?
While we may not see you inside the museum at this time during our limited hours, we are still working to bring you engaging content in other, less-contagious methods. Here are a few ways we invite you to participate:
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Follow the Museum on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for videos, activities, and collection highlights
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Delve into 150 years of news from Golden in our digitized historic newspaper collection
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Explore photos and objects in our online collection
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Read about the amazing rediscoveries we’ve uncovered during our expansive Legacy Collection Inventory on our blog -
Print out our special Golden coloring page, decorate it, and then share on social media using #GoldenStrong
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Enjoy a walk (using appropriate physical distancing, of course!) and take a self-guided historic tour around Golden using our online guide
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Stroll through the Golden History Park and learn about the buildings’ histories.
Weekly Schedules
Did you miss any activities from earlier weeks? Not to worry! Visit our social media channels (click the buttons up top) to get caught up!
Week of July 20
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Thursday, July 23, 6 pm
The Bad Old Days of Colorado: Untold Stories of the Wild West
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This is a virtual event and is free for members. Register on eventbrite.
 Whether on the right or the wrong side of the law, in the nineteenth century, Colorado was not for the faint of heart. People came west seeking fortune or opportunity, and it is no secret that some of the most famous Wild West characters rolled through the Colorado territory at one point or another.
Led by returning presenter and historian, Randi Samuelson-Brown, this talk will center on the establishment of Denver, the discovery of gold, Colorado during the Civil War, the Confederate Gold Field Plot, and other dubious happenings and characters.
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Week of July 13
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Thursday, July 16, 2 pm
History in the Baking
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Join Director Nathan Richie for another installment of History in the Baking on Thursday, July 16. Tune in to Facebook Live at 2 pm.
Learn about the historic importance of Italian immigrants in Golden and learn to make focaccia!
There is no registration for this event. |
Week of June 14
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Examining the history of the KKK in Colorado
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| Following the protests and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, Golden History Museum & Park partnered with the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library and the Denver Public Library to present a special program that examined the history and legacy of racism in our own community-specifically the presence of KKK activities in the early 20th century. |
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Thursday, June 18
Iron, Dynamite and Intrigue: David Moffat and Colorado Railroads
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Banker and entrepreneur David Moffat was instrumental in Colorado railroad development and worked to connect the Colorado Territory to the national rail system. His first efforts were to link Denver to Cheyenne, which some credit as reviving the city of Denver. Through his investments, his work even went beyond his living years.
Take a ride through Colorado history with presenter Stan Moore from territorial days to the present where we will look at what happened and the lessons learned (or not). This talk is based on Moore’s three historical novels about David Moffat’s railroad.
It’s free for members and $10 for non-members. Either way, sign up on eventbrite to catch the show. |
Week of June 7
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Thursday, June 11, 2 pm
History in the Baking with Nathan Richie
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Learn about the history of the Applewood area and its rich orchards. Then we’ll bake a surprise recipe that you can use right away! Tune in to Facebook Live at 2 pm on June 11 to catch the action. (We’ll post it on YouTube if you can’t make the date.)
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Friday, June 12
Behind the Scenes with Vanya Scott
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| Join Curatorial Assistant Vanya Scott to learn why we deaccession from the collection and get up close and personal with some artifacts slated for future removal.
Find this video on YouTube on Friday, June 12. In the meantime, there are 13 other behind-the-scenes videos to watch right now. |
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Week of May 24
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Maintain Physical Distancing on the Golden, Colorado, Historical Points Walking Tour
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Available now: Wind your way through Golden’s history by checking out our 16-point walking tour, starting at the Golden Visitors Center, at 1010 Washington Ave, Golden, CO 80401. Navigate using your smartphone and the customized Google map.
Click the photographs to connect with the Museum’s Online Collection and learn more about selected stops through images, artifacts, and more.
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Friday, May 29
Behind the Scenes with Curator Mark Dodge: Moving the Office
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Visit our YouTube page on May 29 to learn about real Clear Creek gold, the Golden Pro Cycle Challenge, and the move to a new and better office space.
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Week of May 17
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Monday, May 18, 6 pm
Live virtual lecture from University of Colorado Denver professor Dr. Rebecca A. Hunt
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| Colorado women began their fight for voting rights in 1876 during the Constitutional Convention. By 1920 and the passage of the 19th Amendment, Colorado women took the lead and helped gain voting rights for most American women. Join CU Denver historian Dr. Rebecca Hunt as she reveals how all of this came about.
This is a virtual event at 6 pm. Register on eventbrite. |
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Thursday, May 21, 2 pm
Facebook Live: History in the Baking with GHM&P Director Nathan Richie
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Tune in to FB at 2 pm to learn about Swedish immigrants in Golden and make traditional Swedish Cardamom Bread.
The usual special guests will be helping out in the kitchen too!
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Friday, May 22
Porch portraits, face shields, and hand sanitizer: update on documenting the times
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  Philleo family porch portrait |
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Visit the GHM&P blog to get the whole story.
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Week of May 10
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Thursday, May 14
New video from Curatorial Assistant Vanya Scott
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Learn about the Golden trolley lines during a sneak peek at the Golden History Museum & Park offsite storage unit.
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Friday, May 15, 10 am
Virtual Coffee with GHM&P Staff
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Virtually join Golden History Museum & Park Staff to hear about the museum’s future and to ask your burning questions.
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Week of May 3
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Sunday: Meet a Volunteer
 Each week Visitor Services and Interpretation Coordinator Megan Murphy will share the inside story on one of Golden History Museum & Park’s volunteers.
This volunteer originally moved to Colorado to combine her artistic passion with her love of the mountains. She had only planned to spend one year in this beautiful state, building up her portfolio to transition from teacher to freelance illustrator. Years later, she’s still here.
Visit the volunteer page on Sunday for the full story.
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Tuesday: Building Colorado
In an academic year, the Education Team can see over 10,000 students and right now, we’re really missing those 3rd and 4th graders. Dive into a city profile from our Building Colorado program and learn the fun facts that blow the minds of those kids. 🤯
Sugar! Colorado’s journey into sugar production began in 1869 and by 1925, the state was growing 1.64 million tons of sugar beets on 181,000 acres of land. This forever changed the agricultural landscape in Northern Colorado, particularly in Fort Morgan and Fort Collins. Join us next Tuesday to learn about our state’s sweet contributions.
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Wednesday: “Cabin Fever,” Episode 7
All Aboard! Join Education Assistant Grace Brown as she teaches viewers how to make a train out of recycled egg cartons! Explore the time when trains first came through Golden and learn how they fundamentally changed the West. Watch out though, when Grace starts telling train jokes, things might begin to go off track!
Supplies needed:
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Friday: New Blogpost from Curator Mark Dodge
 I love the circus, and years ago, I found this story by Bernard Kelly in a box of donated papers. Originally published in the Denver Post‘s “Empire Magazine” on June 29, 1969, it chronicles the first circus to visit the Colorado Territory via the “new” transcontinental railroad that carried them as far as Cheyenne, Wyoming. They mostly walked the rest of the way. This same circus would grow into the world-famous Barnum and Bailey Circus. Enjoy!
–Mark Dodge, Curator
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Week of April 26
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Sunday: Meet a Volunteer
 Each week Visitor Services and Interpretation Coordinator Megan Murphy will share the inside story on one of Golden History Museum & Park’s volunteers.
The Museum is fortunate to be surrounded with a community that is committed to volunteerism. In today’s highlight, we will meet a volunteer who is a parent to this special canine named Tiberius.
Visit the volunteer page on Sunday for the full story.
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Monday: Honeybee blogpost
This Sunday, April 26, our volunteer keeper will be “rebeeing” the hives at Golden History Park! We have four hives that need bees so we are bringing in four starter packs. Each pack consists of one queen, and approximately 10,000 bees.
Check the blog for this story on Monday, April 27. |
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Tuesday: Building Colorado
In an academic year, the Education Team can see over 10,000 students and right now, we’re really missing those 3rd and 4th graders. Dive into a city profile from our Building Colorado program and learn the fun facts that blow the minds of those kids. 🤯
Students are always excited when they hear the name Tesla in connection to their home state. In 1899, Nikola Tesla moved to Colorado Springs and built a new experimental station near Pikes Peak. Join us on Tuesday as we see if he succeeded with his electrical experiments, or not. See you on Tuesday!
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Wednesday: “Cabin Fever,” Episode 6
Join Education Assistant Grace Brown as she uncovers all the details about the Victorian era practice of making hair art to display in your home. Many families would proudly display wildly intricate designs with hair that was taken across generations of their family. Sounds odd and scary to us, but for them it was an emotional labor of love. Find out why on this week’s episode. Don’t worry, there’s no need to go digging through your shower drain, or get a DIY haircut. We will be substituting yarn, ribbon and string for hair in this episode.
Supplies needed:
● Scissors (with parent’s permission)
● Liquid glue
● String, ribbon, and/or yarn
● A bottle cap
● tape
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Friday: “Behind the Scenes” returns with a new episode
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Week of April 19
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Sunday: Meet a Volunteer
 Each week Visitor Services and Interpretation Coordinator Megan Murphy will share the inside story on one of Golden History Museum & Park’s volunteers.
Born in her grandmother’s house, about halfway between Pine and Conifer, this volunteer is a lifetime resident of Jefferson County and a long-time Goldenite.
Visit the volunteer page for the full story.
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Monday: “Behind the Scenes” with Nathan Richie
This week you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the Museum with Director Nathan Richie. If you missed any of his previous talks you can catch up here.
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Tuesday: Building Colorado
In an academic year, the Education Team can see over 10,000 students and right now, we’re really missing those 3rd and 4th graders. Dive into a city profile from our Building Colorado program and learn the fun facts that blow the minds of those kids. 🤯
This latest snow storm has us wishing we had the option to head to the mountains and fly down the slopes. But since we’re staying home, we’ll just explore the history of one of our oldest ski towns instead. Join our education team as we take you to Steamboat Springs and learn about how they became a major player in Colorado’s ski industry. See you on Tuesday!
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Wednesday: “Cabin Fever,” Episode 5
In this week’s episode join Education Assistant Grace Brown as she takes a look into the importance of newspapers to small towns like Golden in the 1800’s. Figure out how paper is made, how to design a front page, and make your very own newspaper!
Supplies:
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Thursday: Facebook Live at 2 pm: “History in the Baking”
Tune in to FB Live at 2 pm on Thursday, April 23, for another episode of “History in the Baking.” Chat with Director Nathan Richie and learn to make Krautburgers. Also called runza or bierocks, these are traditional hand-held savory meat pastries introduced to Colorado by the Volga Germans who immigrated from the Russian frontier at the turn of the 20th century. Bring your GHM&P questions with you and check out the recipe in advance on our blog.
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Friday: “Behind the Scenes” returns with a new episode
Collection initiatives like the Legacy Collection Inventory Project continue during the stay-at-home orders. Curatorial Assistant Vanya Scott shares a short video update from the field on what she’s doing at offsite collection storage.
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Saturday: “Leadership in Crisis” blogpost
Leadership is challenging under any circumstances, but especially in a crisis Leaders on all levels of government are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying financial crisis in a range of ways. People want different things from their leaders–solid information, guidance, relief, even comfort. Much of the guidance for the Golden community during this pandemic has come from the state level and the office of Colorado Governor Jared Polis. Like governors before him, and his colleagues in every state, he seeks reliable counsel from trusted advisors and aims to respond as effectively as possible in light of shifting circumstances. Is he handling it correctly? History will be the judge. The situation brings to mind the challenge of global crisis for another Colorado Governor—one born in Golden, Colorado. John Charles Vivian was born and raised in Golden, Colorado. He was also Colorado’s governor during the tumultuous Second World War (1943-1947). Vivian strove to maintain a relative calm across the state for his two, 2-year terms. And while his tenure brought about no single great event, he would transform Colorado from a strongly rural, mining dependent collection of counties into a progressive industrial-scientific state. —Mark Dodge, Curator
Check the blog for this story on Saturday, April 25. |
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Week of April 12
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Meet the History Park flock on Sunday
Visitor Services and Interpretation Coordinator Megan Murphy will share the inside story on some of Golden History Park’s treasured residents. We hope you’ll take a peek on YouTube or Facebook.
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Lecture Monday: “Quest for the Capital,” part three
Since you can’t come to The Salon and hear the latest lecture, we’re bringing them to you each Monday! This week you’ll hear part three of Director Nathan Richie’s “Early Golden City and the Quest for the Capital.” If you missed the others, catch up here.
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Education Team Tuesday: Building Colorado
In an academic year, the Education Team can see over 10,000 students and right now, we’re really missing those 3rd and 4th graders. Dive into a city profile from our Building Colorado program and learn the fun facts that blow the minds of those kids 🤯
On Tuesday, we’re visiting Leadville to see what kind of tourist attractions people paid to see in 1896. Looking at this photo, can you tell what the structure is made of? You’ll have to tune in to find out if you’re correct!
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Wednesday’s “Cabin Fever,” Episode 4
In Episode 4 of Cabin Fever Education Assistant Grace Brown is exploring what makes us all unique: our fingerprints! “Nail” down some history behind fingerprints, get some “pointers” to tell what kind of fingerprints you have, and get “hands-on” with a really cute piece of art using your very own fingerprints. Supplies you’ll need for this activity include:
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Facebook Live at 2 pm, Thursday, April 16
Tune in to FB Live at 2 pm on Thursday to chat with Director Nathan Richie and learn to make delicious Cornish pasties. Bring your GHM&P questions with you and check out the recipe in advance on our blog.
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Friday’s “Behind the Scenes” returns with a new episode
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Cemetery conservation on Saturday
Collection initiatives continue during quarantine. Get an update on the Golden Cemetery archive conservation project. Check the blog for details on Saturday, April 18.
Meantime, catch up on dozens of excellent posts from Curator Mark Dodge about wildly varied topics on the very same blog.
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Week of April 5
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Meet the History Park flock on Sunday
Visitor Services and Interpretation Coordinator Megan Murphy will share the inside story on some of Golden History Park’s treasured residents. We hope you’ll take a peek on YouTube or Facebook.
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Lecture Monday: “Quest for the Capital,” part two
Since you can’t come to The Salon and hear the latest lecture, we’re bringing them to you each Monday! This week you’ll hear part two of Director Nathan Richie’s “Early Golden City and the Quest for the Capital.” If you missed part one, catch up here.
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Education Team Tuesday: “Crossing the Line”
Even in the midst of current events, we still have things to celebrate: March was Women’s History Month and 2020 is the centennial of women’s suffrage. GHM&P’s Education team is sharing one of their favorite Silent Stars films from Hands-on History camp, “Crossing the Line.” This eight-minute film not only captures the 9-12 year-olds’ creativity but also their understanding and interpretation of major historic events. Check it out to see if women prevail in our history park!
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Facebook Live at 2 pm, Wednesday, April 8
Tune in to FB Live at 2 pm on Wednesday to chat with Director Nathan Richie and learn to bake Austrian Salzstangerl (Salt Sticks) from a family recipe.
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Thursday’s “Cabin Fever,” Episode 3
Tired of being stuck inside? Education Assistant Grace Brown comes to you on Thursday with a third episode of the celebrated “Cabin Fever.”
In this one she takes things to the backyard! Learn about the 1876 4th of July celebrations in Golden, and get some instructions on games pioneer kids played to celebrate the United States centennial!
Supplies needed for this week:
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Friday’s “Behind the Scenes with Curator Mark Dodge” returns with a new video episode
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More Golden movies on Saturday
 Oldies are goodies, but newer video options featuring Golden are available from your favorite streaming service too. Check the blog for details on Saturday, April 11.
Meantime, catch up on dozens of excellent posts from Curator Mark Dodge about wildly varied topics on the very same blog.
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Week of March 29
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Meet the History Park residents on Sunday
Each Sunday, Visitor Services and Interpretation Coordinator Megan Murphy will introduce you to one of the full-time residents of Golden History Park. We hope you’ll take a peek each week.
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Lecture Monday
Since you can’t come to The Salon and hear the latest lecture, we’re bringing them to you each Monday! This week you’ll hear from Director Nathan Richie about in “Early Golden City and the Quest for the Capital.”
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Education Team Tuesday
Student and Family Programs Coordinator Annika Firn comes to you this Tuesday with something to keep your mind entertained–old-school style.
Grab your isolation friends and learn about Victorian parlor games! With the invention of gaslights providing visibility late into the evenings, Victorians perfected indoor activities with party games, card games, and more. Next week we’re exploring one of the oldest card games, with a twist. Join us on Tuesday to learn what it is and how to play!
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Facebook Live at 10 am, Wednesday, April 1
Tune in to FB Live at 10 am on Wednesday to chat with Director Nathan Richie and see what’s baking in his kitchen.
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Cabin Fever Thursday, Episode 2
Education Assistant Grace Brown comes to you on Thursday with a second episode of the celebrated “Cabin Fever.”
Learn how to re-purpose some of your old egg cartons into a fun and educational craft! Supplies you’ll need for this week’s craft include:
We are all buzzing with excitement! See you Thursday!
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Museum Collection Highlight on Saturday
These are historic times and we’d say the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis is a noteworthy event to document. What do you think? Museums story-tell through objects, so what would tell this story well? When others look back from the future what will be important to remember? What would you collect to document this time?
Meantime, catch up on dozens of excellent posts from Curator Mark Dodge about wildly varied topics on the very same blog.
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Reopening
Thank you for your support of Golden History Museum & Park. We look forward to seeing you in-person again soon! We’re doing the planning now so we will be ready to go with a robust menu of offerings.