The depth and breadth of the Denver Art Museum's collection is breathtaking. There is so much to…read morelearn and enjoy in the standing exhibits and the rotating exhibits that amaze and delight the senses. The current exhibition on Australian Indigenous Art "The Stars We Do Not See" is a stunning example of how much there is to gain and appreciate from going to see something you know nothing about. I particularly enjoy the tours, ongoing programs and lectures that the Museum offers. In conjunction with with the Aboriginal exhibit, the monthly "Mindful Looking" program offered a deep dive into one painting in that exhibit as a group of maybe 50 patrons listened in rapt attention as the curator of "The Stars We Do Not See" gave us a deep understanding of not only how that piece was made, but also its historical, symbolic and hidden perspectives. This is just a tiny slice of the education, amazement and enjoyment the Denver Art Museum has to offer. It's a treasure.

This is a review of the museum in Hamilton Building and Martin Building, which are connected by a…read morebridge. I reviewed The Kirkland separately. I suggest grabbing a map or downloading it on your phone. The Hamilton Building has several floors and houses arts of Africa & Oceania, indigenous arts of North America, Western American art, architecture and design galleries, modern and contemporary art. At the ground floor, there's a spacious gift shop. The Martin Building is an 8-story building with lots of glass tiles. It has indigenous arts of North America, Asian art, Latin American art & art of the Ancient Americas, European/American art before 1900, photography, textile art, fashion and major architecture and design collection. Both buildings are good to explore; but if you're pressed for time, I'd recommend going to The Kirkland first (which is my favorite).

I've been here twice- most recently because I was able to get a free ticket through the Denver…read morepublic library, and previously to attend a wine and Halloween candy pairing party. If you get a chance to attend their events, they are really fun and worth the price of admission. I also really enjoy their ever rotating art collection. They have some really great local and minority artists, but what really tugged on my heart this time was the exhibit of teen artists. Absolutely adore seeing kids express themselves through art, and their statements about their art were truly eloquent. Parking downtown sucks, as usual, but if you come on a Sunday you might be able to find a metered spot for free. I'm sure I'll be back, most likely for an event! I know I'll be recommending their teen program to some of my more artistic students.

This is a non-collecting museum which means there is no permanent collection, but instead a…read morecontinuing series of temporary exhibits, some unique to this facility and others traveling between multiple museums. Quality can be highly variable, but that's always in the eye of the beholder. The focus is on contemporary art, as the name says, and much of this is intended to be highly provocative. I'm not a fan of art that requires a lengthy, written explanation to make sense and the curators here are often fond of that stuff, but I've also seen many beautiful, moving, thought-provoking, and inspiring exhibits. This is a bite-size facility with three floors of galleries. There is an elegant cafe on the top floor with a full bar and a nice selection of snacks, sandwiches, wine, beer, soft drinks, espresso drinks, and cocktails. The views from the roof deck outside the cafe are excellent. Street parking is metered and limited in this area; however, the museum has a deal with the parking garage across the street (1900 16th Street). Turn right off 15th Street onto Delgany Street, then immediately turn left. You'll see a large banner on the parking garage building touting museum parking as you turn off 15th Street. Use the QR code at the MCA's front desk to get one hour of free parking and two more hours at $5 each. All of the parking and access options can be found on the Web site at: Visit/Getting to MCA Denver The MCA has a very active schedule of events including lectures, classes, tours, film, parties, and many experiences geared to teens. The museum operates a second facility at the Holiday Theater in Lower Highlands in addition to the main Fries building. The Fries building is an excellent space for the display of contemporary art and was designed by starchitect David Adjaye. The Holiday Theater, built in 1914, then the Egyptian Theater (1926-1953), has been restored by the MCA as a 400-seat venue and performance hub for arts programming. Another facet of the museum is the Octopus Initiative. The MCA has assembled a collection of works by local Denver artists. Any Denver resident can create a list of favorites, then participate in a rotating lottery where these works are loaned out for ten month periods. The MCA has something for almost everyone and is certainly a major Denver treasure worth checking out.

Cool space to check out with friends!…read more There are so many different rooms, things to look at and places to explore in this expansive museum. Every direction you look is something new to see! The whole place took my friends and I about 2 hours to explore. Tickets were about $50/person and parking was $15 in the lot across the street. They have a small cafe and gift shop where you can purchase drinks. Inside the immersive museum there is also a spot where you can try out themed drinks as well! The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful in guiding us upon entry and when we purchased our tickets.

We came here on a recent trip to Denver and had a blast!…read more All of the employees we ran into were very nice and helpful! This place really transports you to a whole different world! There is so much to see and it constantly has you questioning your reality and why in the world anyone would even come up with such a place! It's easy to get turned around! I normally post lots of pictures but honestly, do yourself a favor and don't look up anything! I didn't and it was SO much more fun that way!! There is a bar and area where you can do snacks. The bar area had its own floor and looked really cool! I wish we would have done that! The snacks are down on the first floor! Overall we spent about 3 hours here exploring. If you go fast you could probably do it in about 90 mins but honestly you should go slow and enjoy every weird detail!

Wow! This place is gorgeous. We came here because the Zoo was inaccessible (or we couldn't figure…read moreout how to access it) due to the marathon. There is a good amount of parking and street parking as well. I quite enjoyed the orangerie, and the dome with rainforest inside, which had a wonderful little treehouse you could walk up. Lots of really cool tropical plants live here, away from the arid Denver environment. Further into the garden, you can enjoy multiple different styles of gardens, surrounding various beautiful water features. The japanese garden surrounds a large calm pond, and there were a lot of bunnies frolicking about. Further in there is a small bonsai garden. There is also a plains garden, an alpine garden, and a few different types of flower gardens including a Victorian secret garden. I really enjoyed the vibe of walking through these areas, and feel very jealous of people who live in the apartments nearby and can walk through this garden in their free time anytime they wish. The garden features two cafes -- one more interior to the garden which has ice cream and a few entrees, and one more near the exit of the garden which is covered and has bathroom access. I recommend heading to the first one to shelter from rain. Loved the hot cider, it was so good! There's also a huge gift shop with a lot of different things you can buy. I highly recommend visiting for people who hare in the area. It's a great place to burn a few hours and relax/decompress in nature!

I enjoy the peacefulness and serenity of walking through Botanical Gardens. We were in town for…read morespring break and I read that the Denver Botanic Gardens was amazing. We decided to check it out. We arrived to Denver Botanic Gardens on a Saturday morning. The gardens are located in a nice lush area in Denver. Free parking is accessible in the parking garage across. There's nothing better than starting your morning with a brisk walk through a natural setting of tranquility. I felt that with the Denver Botanic Gardens as soon as we started our journey. Besides the magnificent vast variety of curated plants and flowers, there was themed gardens, harmonious architecture, indoor conservatories, and cultural ponds. The Japanese gardens were my favorite. A cozy cafe is available for small bites and refreshments as well. The property is extensive and immense but just the right size to explore. There were plenty of benches everywhere to relax and rest. I found that to be a nice touch. Beautiful picture opportunities were boundless. Overall we enjoyed our experience at the Denver Botanic Gardens. The staff were all nice and accommodating. The atmosphere was welcoming and family friendly. Price point was fair. I would love to share the experience with other loved ones when we eventually come back into town.

We were fortunate enough to get passes to this museum through our local library. The museum is…read morebeautiful and has so much information on the life and works of Mr. Still. The staff there is extremely knowledgeable and was able to go even more in depth to answer our questions.

Solid museum for some modern art. While not the biggest museum around, I enjoyed the focus on…read moreClyfford Still's work. Some of the works are quite thought provoking and innovative. Definitely causes you to think about things from perspectives you would never have considered. The short video clip being played in the lobby of the museum also gives you more insight into the museum itself and how they put everything together. Overall, a worthy place to visit in Downtown Denver :)

Took my 6 & 7 year old daughters for their first visit to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for…read morethe Brick Planet exhibit and ended up staying for everything. From Space Odyssey to Prehistoric Journey, Gems & Minerals, Exploring Colorado History, the Mummies exhibit (so fascinating!), and of course the Discovery Zone where they could roam and just be kids -- we truly made an afternoon of it. Every staff member we encountered was so friendly and informative, which made the experience even better.

Denver has a great museum, so if you come here be sure to check it out. It's a great experience of…read moreColorado history, while also having tons of science and the exhibits that rotate in and out are great too. They have free days every so often. They tend to be packed but it's a great time, the building feels so alive with so many people. Come by and check it out, you will love it.

Of the three buildings of Denver Art Museum, this is my favorite. Hands down. Access to The…read moreKirkland Museum is included in the Denver Art Museum admission fee. Even though it's not as big as the other two buildings, this houses Vance Kirkland's artworks (pointillism!) and other fine art of other artists. It showcases Art Deco tables, chairs, jars, glasses, and so many others. The studio of Vance Kirkland is here and you could see the straps he used. If you're in Denver, visiting this should be in your list.

This is an extension of the Denver Art Museum. You have to walk maybe 2 blocks from the Hamilton…read moreBuilding You'll walk by the calf on the way there. You could easily spend an hour looking at their collections. I was impressed with the collections.

Loved it! We spent about an hour there. It is better if you go with someone because some of the…read morephoto ops require two people. There are many employees around to explain what you are looking at, and help you get the best picture. There is a small gift shop also. I thought it was worth it but some friends thought the entry fee was too much.

Our daughter was visiting from out of town and we were looking for an interesting afternoon…read moreactivity. Our daughter is 31 years old so perhaps we were a little above the targeted demographics but we had a nice time. The exhibits were interesting and many photo opportunities that presented interesting illusions. The staff were amazingly friendly and helpful, guiding guests through each activity, helping to explain the setup, and even taking our photos. It was the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving so the building was somewhat crowded with families but we never had to wait more then a few minutes before accessing one of the exhibits. Highly recommend MOI to families with preteen and younger children. It may even be enjoyable for a young couple on a date night. We were able to finish all of the exhibits in 30 minutes, we thought there may be a second floor but after walking through the space a second time we realized that was it. Fun but the ticket price and cost for parking may be a bit steep for some.

I'm always looking for different things to do and the Mid-Career Smear collection was different. We…read moreparked at a local parking garage on California and 19th St ( $20 for max hours) within walking distance to the historic Colorado Building. Also available is metered street parking. We had a reservation for the collection at 1:45 so we ate at the Tuscany Coffee & Deli (on the 16th St mall) for lunch and while we waited for our appointment. Initially we were confused about the collection hours and we left a VM and emailed but no response to see if we could go to the collection before our scheduled appointment (which we did anyway). A employee explained the appointment was to tell how many people would attend at a certain time. We arrived to find the building doors were locked but luckily a gentleman who works there let us in and also let us into the elevator to the 5th floor where we were greeted by an employee who explained about the visit. We were free to roam the entire 5th floor of each office at our leisure (only saw one other couple) that held exhibits from contemporary artists from around the world. There were information in the rooms providing brief descriptions of each exhibit. Some of the items were interactive. The collection is free and open to the public (Wednesday through Friday with hours from 11am to 5pm). For more information, please visit their site on Facebook or at their website.

I fortunately had the opportunity to visit this museum before the pandemic hit and was very glad…read morethat i did. The collection of art and items here is definitely very eclectic, but is also very thought provoking at the same time. This collection is definitely much nicer than most free collections that I've seen in other cities, and I would have no problem paying a small fee to visit it again. As the rooms were not busy during my visit, I had the opportunity to slowly enjoy the art - this was good as some areas have quite a bit of items to see in a small area. Overall, definitely worth a visit if you're in Denver and enjoy art -- especially unusual and creative art.

I loved the experience super long so relaxing pleaseee I BEG YOU COMEEE it is so beautiful we need…read moremore places likes this

Do you want an afternoon to just chill? Do you NEED an afternoon to just chill? The International…read moreChurch of Cannabis is your place. First, it's not quite what you think - nothing is sold and nothing is used there. I wouldn't say it's exactly family friendly for every family but there were little kids there. We started with the meditation/laser show. The room, once the church sanctuary, is painted in the brightest colors imaginable. It's absolute eye candy. You sit (or lay) on church pews that are full of squishy pillows. The lights dim, the meditation starts and the lasers illuminate various parts of the room. Even with the rock music, it really was mellow and relaxing. I don't know if you're permitted to sit through it more than once but I know that I would have liked too. While the laser show and "brightness" may be the main draw, the arcade was the most fun for us. Everything is included, no quarters needed. I played ski-ball until my arm was tired. While my husband played Galaga, I was drawn to the lite-brite. Simple? Yes but I wasn't allowed to have one when I was little and this was an absolute thrill for me. We then went into another room where we played Mario Cart - the game was projected onto an entire wall. There were board games, more arcade games, crayons and markers...everything needed to unleash your inner child - my husband and I spent the entire afternoon doing just that. We're back home now. I'm looking at the clock thinking about what to make for dinner. You know what? Heck with it - I'm going to go color instead...