Why go
Edwin Carter’s collection of Colorado birds and mammals was the starting point for an institution that later broadened into geology, paleontology, anthropology and space science. Knowing that origin makes the local specimens more than a backdrop to the museum’s larger story of Earth and the universe.
The full story
Edwin Carter studied Colorado birds and mammals and kept specimens in a log cabin. His work became the seed of the museum founded in 1900. The institution first bore the name Colorado Museum of Natural History, later became the Denver Museum of Natural History, and eventually took its current name. Those changes reflect a widening scope: natural history remains central, but the museum also interprets human cultures, health and space. Director Alfred Marshall Bailey helped develop the collections through the middle of the twentieth century. From its site in City Park, the museum connects those subjects to the landscape around Denver. Look for that continuity as you move between wildlife scenes, ancient life, rocks and minerals, and exhibits about the wider universe. The museum’s west-facing outlook toward the Front Range adds a useful reminder of where its Colorado story began.