I really enjoyed our visit with my kids on our last day in CO. The area is small but really the…read moreattraction here is the butterflies. It was so relaxing just to walk in and see all of them flying around. I also love that you can input data for the butterflies with stickers to help track them. My only suggestion would be to have more people walking around to monitor since I saw a few little kids try and hurt the butterflies, simply due to the kids being so young and not understanding how to be careful. I enjoyed the gift shop and the staff were very friendly. A lovely place to visit in the area!

The Butterfly Pavilion is always a hit for our family…read more My toddler loves going and staring at all the bugs in the front room. I think we are in there for about 30 minutes. Then we make our way to the tropical butterfly room. Where we spend 10 minutes at most because when we get there. He wants a snack but I know he knows the play area is next. It keeps my toddler busy for hours. And he leaves happy. Surprisingly a fun place for a toddler. I never knew he would be so interested in the bugs but he loves it. And asks to go back fairly often. I recommend it for sure. Especially for young children. You can end your time in the play area. They do close for about 15 minutes each day for a deep clean. I forget the time. Overall, a great place to go.

The Broomfield Depot Museum is an interesting place to visit. The museum features the history and…read morefounding of the city of Broomfield from when it was just a small little rest stop named Zangs Spur in 1903 when travelers would travel from Denver to Boulder. Also included in the museum is the story of a dog named Shep that happened to wander in the then toll booth that was once installed on highway 36 back in the 1950s. The beloved dog became the mascot of the toll station and stayed there all his life receiving gifts and treats from toll attendants and passengers paying 25 cents as the toll charge to drive into Boulder. The best part is that the museum is free on Saturdays.

Fun and free museum at CU Boulder. Quite a few different exhibits but the fossils were the coolest…read more There is construction in the area but the museum is still accessible.

Was looking for a place for the kids on a rainy day; the Museum of Natural History was a good…read morechoice. It is relatively small, but has some interesting exhibits in the 4 wings for all ages. There are some interactive displays, that some children will enjoy. The docent at the front desk was helpful. What challenged me was parking. There is none nearby. I guess this is true for most Universities. The GPS took me to the museum and with 2 toddlers in tow, I parked in one of the 6 non marked, empty spaces. Just to be sure I asked if I needed a visitor permit for my car, when I was told those spots were not for visitors. I needed to look for parking elsewhere. I found there was parking available approximately 1/4 mile away and across Broadway. That is an extremely busy street. There are no pedestrian crosswalks near the museum. So fairly good museum -- difficult logistics made worse on cool rainy days.

Super cool local museum. My favourite building was the historic home that was full of items from a…read morehome of that time. The guide was knowledgeable, friendly, and gave an excellent tour. I highly recommend stopping by if you're in the area!

My visit here was very interesting and enlightening. The tour guide was friendly, lively, and…read moreknowledgeable about the subject matter. The tour consists of three small buildings. The main building that used to be the towns first grocery store. A boarding house that was rented out to miners and a third house that now contains a miniature replica of the town of Louisville in the early 1900's. Come down and take a tour for the low low price of absolutely free.

An interesting establishment in downtown Greeley Co.. The museum is a self guided tour through a…read morewonderful model railroad setup. The entire museum was put together by volunteers and you can see there passion for the trade just by looking at the museum. This is a great way to spend a few hours and enjoy all the work that was put into the building.

CMRM is so cool. From the moment you enter you feel taken care of - all the volunteers are so nice…read moreand everything is laid out to lead you along through a nice experience. The railroad itself is amazing. Even those who know little about trains will be impressed, as there is so much more than trains; it is the whole world around the trains as well, reduced to 1/87th real size. Bits of actual railroad history scattered all around the perimeter with posted descriptions and explanations. The location of the museum is nice. Easy parking and plenty of real railroading right outside the door to the models. Entertaining for all ages.

I knew before I arrived, it was going to be on the smaller end. Not in a bad way. It was the…read moreperfect size for toddlers and kiddos. My toddler had fun running around to the different areas and rooms. His favorite was the car jeep he was able to ride on. It was clean and I liked they had a baby area too we didn't make it outside since it was a hot day. But overall, we had a good time playing and it wore out my toddler. That's always the goal of us getting out!

Visited this children's museum recently while exploring some cities north of us. Kids had a great…read moretime. Lots of different things to keep them busy including a big pirate ship, pulley chairs, art room, etc. I loved how they had some older telephones, switch boards, etc. so kids could actually experience some of these items not commonly used or seen today. It was fun to let them explore those and play with them. As a bilingual family, we appreciated how everything was presented in English/Spanish. I did feel like some of the displays were a little run down. Likewise the prices were steep, especially for adults. I really think since adult presence is required, it really shouldn't cost more than $3 per adult. Bathrooms were fairly clean. Place seemed stuck in the Covid era which I wasn't a fan of. Time to move on! This isn't the museum's fault but the day we went the kids there were a bit out of control and rude. That dampened our experience a little bit. They had a little area where families could sit and eat snacks. That was nice for taking a break, especially if you stay for a while. It was a fun one time excursion but I wouldn't return. We have a lot of fun places much closer to us that cost a lot less!

Nice museum and worth checking out if you're in the area. $31 for 2 tickets, babies no charge. For…read morea small museum, it's pretty random. We were told to check out the rooftop first only to see nothing. The view is cool but could've seen it from the outside without paying the museum fee or going hiking on a trail. I think the biggest appeal is if you have children. The Google Garage is innovative and the whole basement level is dedicated to kids play area. Bathrooms located on every floor.

A very nice museum, well laid out and shows everything I've ever wondered about Boulder and its…read morehistory! Plus they have a great section on staple restaurants from past and present Boulder- super fun to check out! Plus if you have SNAP then it's totally free, so worth it!

Visiting NCAR is an extraordinary experience that should be seized by any visitor to or resident of…read morethe area. The complex was designed in 1961 by I. M. Pei, one of the greatest architects of the 20th century, and completed in 1967. Although this was his first major project, it received immediate recognition as a masterpiece of modern design and caused Pei's career to rocket. The buildings are inspired by ancient Pueblo ruins and fit seamlessly into their spectacular foothills setting, rather than trying to dominate the landscape. Meteorology first became criticality important during WWII, but basic research into our weather declined drastically after the war. The National Academy of Sciences approached Congress in 1956 to fund an institute for basic climate research. NCAR has been funded by the National Science Foundation since 1960 and is managed by a consortium of universities. One of NCAR's basic functions is to develop models of our climate and the facility has housed a series of state-of-the-art supercomputers for this purpose. Alas for computer nerds, since 2012 the latest generations of systems are now at the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center in Cheyenne (there is a nice visitor center and tour if you visit there). NCAR encourages visits by the public and is open every day at no charge. The complex sits at the top of Table Mesa and takes up 28 acres of 565 acres of City of Boulder open space. Getting there is a little tricky. You take Table Mesa Drive through a residential development. The houses suddenly end and you're on NCAR Road which twists seamlessly into the landscape and leads past the main entrance to the huge parking lot. Be careful on the rather steep road as it is used by lots of bicyclists and runners. There's a path from the parking lot to the rear of the complex. A staircase leads to the plaza and public entrance. The setting is gorgeous and there are eight hiking trails of various lengths and levels of difficulty. The main public parts of NCAR are the lobby and adjacent two-level science hall which are packed with dozens of interesting and well-done exhibits, many interactive, that explain the functions of weather and scientific research about it. There's also a small theater, a research library, and Pei's original model of the project. The public is welcome to use the large cafeteria (follow the signs from the exhibit hall) which has great views and hosts a continuing series of art exhibits. I usually stop at NCAR whenever I visit Boulder and always enjoy my time there.

What a treat to find this. Very informative and interactive to learn about meteorology and fun for…read morethe kids. Plenty of parking and it seems most everyone uses it for trail access, but the center itself is worth the stop. Great views from here and it offered a nice break for us.

We have been to Colorado many times and this remains one of our very favorite things to do! You…read more just can't beat panning for gold in a river stream knowing that you are actually going to find flecks of gold and we have every time! It is so much fun! This year we did the tour of the cave and it was super super interesting me as well and my kids really loved it :-) I did too! Lastly, the chipmunks. You could literally just go for the chipmunks lol! They are so super friendly and so much fun! We cannot recommend this place highly enough!

i'm going out of my way to write this review because this was such a cool experience. I did the…read more"Mother Lode" combo, which includes the main main tour, plus an additional mine tour, which to reach it that requires a quarter mile hike up a trail, and gold panning (after several tries I only found one tiny gold flake, but I got something!). Definitely bring sunscreen for the second tour, as you will be sitting outside in the sun for a little bit. It's cool and refreshing inside the mines, and they're full of history, right down to the wooden shafts that still have numbers painted on them from the miners of 1800s. You will learn about mining history and how harrowing and challenging it was, and see the actual tools they used, and how techniques developed over time. You will see shafts and tunnels you cannot explore but remain from days of old that inspire the imagination. You will also hear some silly ghost stories, and even see how UV light illuminates the rocks and minerals in the mines. Interested in history, gold, geology, or mining? Even if you aren't, take this tour anyway! It's well worth it, and the guides do a great job.

So much fun exploring and learning about Earth, the solar system, nature, and history! The…read morePlanetarium is a wonderful experience. Watching the presentations about the solar system makes you feel like you're right there, riding alongside the planets and floating through space. Walking through the museum, interacting with the exhibits, and learning from the stewards made the visit even more enjoyable. It was also awesome to see school groups and summer camps exploring the museum. I love that the kids have a designated place to sit and eat their lunches instead of having to use the café. There is so much to see and learn that you can easily spend hours here. It's a great way to spend the day, whether you're visiting with family, friends, or on your own. Happy Yelping!

Educational and interactive!…read more There's a large parking lot and an underground parking garage so plenty of spaces. You do need to purchase a ticket to enter so I suggest doing that ahead of time. It also gives you a timeframe to enter just so it spaces out the crowds. Did you know that there's a scavenger hunt for gnomes, I think they look more like elves though lol the list of where to find the gnomes can be found on the museums website. This was really fun because it kept me guessing on where to look next, and when we came up to exhibit that supposedly had the gnome, I got to look really close at all the details of that exhibit. There are three levels to the museum, the ground floor, the second level and the third floor. Each one is broken up into different categories. They also have a laser show going on with different songs or movies for the theme. You do need to reserve a spot online so make sure you check out the showtimes, each week is different. I went with a friend and we blocked out three hours for this. The laser show we chose was roughly 30 minutes so we ended the day with the laser show. So the museum itself only took 2 1/2 hours.