How to Explore the History Colorado Center Contemporary Wing Denver

The History Colorado Center, located in downtown Denver, is more than a museumit is a living archive of the states cultural, social, and political evolution. Among its most dynamic and thought-provoking sections is the Contemporary Wing, a space intentionally designed to reflect the ever-changing identity of Colorado through modern narratives, interactive installations, and community-driven exhibits. Unlike traditional historical museums that focus on artifacts from centuries past, the Contemporary Wing engages visitors with urgent, relevant stories from the last 50 yearsspanning civil rights movements, environmental shifts, Indigenous resurgence, urban development, and technological transformation.

Exploring the Contemporary Wing is not a passive experience. It demands curiosity, critical thinking, and emotional engagement. Whether you're a local resident seeking deeper connection to your community or a visitor drawn to Colorados modern cultural landscape, understanding how to navigate this space effectively enhances your appreciation of the states complex identity. This guide provides a comprehensive, step-by-step roadmap to help you fully explore, interpret, and internalize the stories presented in the Contemporary Wingtransforming a museum visit into a meaningful, transformative encounter with history as it is being made.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Plan Your Visit with Intention

Before stepping into the History Colorado Center, take time to define your purpose for visiting the Contemporary Wing. Are you interested in social justice movements? Environmental policy? Indigenous sovereignty? Urban gentrification? The Contemporary Wing rotates exhibits frequently, so your experience will vary depending on timing. Begin by visiting the official History Colorado Center website and reviewing the current and upcoming exhibitions in the Contemporary Wing. Look for titles like Water Wars: Colorados Fight for Resources, Voices of the Front Range: 1970Present, or Digital Colorado: Tech, Culture, and Change.

Check the calendar for guided tours, artist talks, or community forums scheduled during your visit. These events often provide context that is not available in exhibit labels. If youre visiting during a weekend or holiday, expect larger crowdsconsider arriving early in the morning or on a weekday afternoon for a quieter, more reflective experience.

2. Enter with an Open Mind

The Contemporary Wing deliberately avoids linear, chronological storytelling. Instead, it presents overlapping, sometimes contradictory narratives that reflect the complexity of modern life. You may encounter a video installation about Denvers housing crisis placed adjacent to a textile piece created by a Navajo weaver addressing land rights. Resist the urge to categorize or simplify these stories. Allow yourself to sit with discomfort. Ask yourself: Why is this placed here? Who is speaking? Who is missing?

Bring a notebook or use a digital note-taking app to record your initial reactions. Note the emotions you feelanger, surprise, nostalgia, confusion. These reactions are data points in your personal engagement with history.

3. Start with the Central Installation

Most Contemporary Wing exhibitions are organized around a central, immersive installation that serves as the thematic anchor. This could be a large-scale video projection, an audio soundscape of Denver street noise from 1995, or a reconstructed storefront from a historically Black neighborhood displaced by highway construction. Begin here. Spend at least 1520 minutes absorbing the installation without reading any labels. Let the sensory elementssound, light, textureguide your understanding.

After your initial immersion, return to the installation and read the interpretive text. Compare your emotional response with the historical facts presented. Often, the disconnect between feeling and fact reveals deeper truths about how history is experienced versus how it is documented.

4. Follow the Narrative Threads

Exhibits in the Contemporary Wing are intentionally non-linear. Instead of following a single path, youll find multiple narrative threads branching out from the central installation. These threads are often color-coded or symbolized by icons on the floor or walls. Common threads include:

• Land & Water Environmental justice, drought, irrigation, Indigenous water rights
• People & Power Labor movements, immigration, political activism, police reform
• Home & Community Gentrification, housing policy, LGBTQ+ spaces, immigrant enclaves
• Technology & Identity Social medias role in protest, digital archives, AI and surveillance

Choose one thread that resonates most with you and follow it through the exhibit. Track how the theme evolves across different media: photographs, oral histories, protest signs, digital maps, or even QR codes linking to interviews with community members. This method transforms your visit from a checklist of exhibits into a personal journey of discovery.

5. Engage with Interactive Elements

The Contemporary Wing is rich with interactive components designed to invite participation. Dont skip these. They are not gimmicksthey are critical tools for deepening historical empathy.

Look for:

• Touchscreens with digitized archives of newspaper clippings, protest flyers, or personal letters
• Audio booths where you can listen to first-person testimonies from activists, farmers, teachers, or refugees
• Contributory stations where visitors can add their own stories via voice recording or written notethese become part of the living exhibit
• Augmented reality (AR) panels that overlay historical images onto current views of Denver streets

When using these tools, take your time. Pause the audio. Rewind a video. Read every line of text. Many visitors rush through these stations, but the most powerful insights come from slow, deliberate interaction.

6. Seek Out Underrepresented Voices

A hallmark of the Contemporary Wing is its commitment to elevating voices historically excluded from mainstream narratives. Look for exhibits curated by or featuring:

• Indigenous artists and historians from the Ute, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and other tribal nations
• Latino/a/x and Chicano/a/x community organizers
• Black Coloradans documenting the legacy of Five Points and the Denver Urban Renewal Authority
• Undocumented immigrants sharing their experiences with border policies and labor exploitation
• Transgender and nonbinary activists shaping Denvers queer history

These stories are often placed in smaller, quieter alcoves or tucked into corners. They require intentional seeking. Use the exhibit map to locate these zones. If youre unsure, ask a museum educatorthey are trained to point you toward underrepresented narratives that might otherwise be overlooked.

7. Document Your Experience

While photography is permitted in most areas (without flash), the Contemporary Wing encourages visitors to document their personal responses. Take photos of artifacts that move you. Record audio snippets of testimonies. Sketch symbols or phrases that resonate. These become your private archive of the visit.

After your visit, write a short reflection: What surprised you? What challenged your assumptions? Which story stayed with you? This reflection transforms your experience from entertainment into education.

8. Connect with Community Programs

The Contemporary Wing is not a static collectionit is a platform for ongoing dialogue. History Colorado regularly hosts public forums, film screenings, poetry readings, and workshops tied to current exhibits. Sign up for their newsletter or follow them on social media to stay informed.

Consider attending a Story Circles event, where community members share personal histories related to the exhibit themes. These gatherings often occur in the adjacent community space and are open to the public. Participation is not requiredjust presence is enough to honor the process.

9. Extend Your Learning Beyond the Walls

The Contemporary Wing is designed to inspire action. After your visit, explore how the themes you encountered are unfolding in real time across Colorado. Visit a local community garden in Montbello that emerged from a land justice movement. Attend a city council meeting where water rights are being debated. Read a local zine published by undocumented youth. The museum is a starting pointnot an endpoint.

Use the exhibits recommended reading list (often posted near exits) to dive deeper. Many include works by Colorado-based authors, historians, and journalists. Libraries across Denver carry these titles, and some are available as free e-books through the Denver Public Library system.

10. Return and Revisit

Exhibits in the Contemporary Wing change every 612 months. What you see today may be completely different in six months. Return periodically. Each visit reveals new layers as your own perspective evolves. The museum is not meant to be seen onceit is meant to be lived with.

Best Practices

Be Present, Not Performatory

Its easy to treat museum visits as social media content opportunitiesposing for photos, scrolling through exhibits while checking your phone, or rushing to check off things to see. The Contemporary Wing resists this. Its strength lies in quiet, sustained attention. Put your phone away. Breathe. Let the space hold you.

Ask Questions, Dont Just Seek Answers

Historical interpretation is not about memorizing facts. Its about developing the ability to ask better questions. Instead of asking, When did this happen? ask: Who benefited from this? Who was silenced? How does this connect to todays headlines? The exhibit may not provide answersbut it will give you the tools to keep asking.

Recognize Bias in Curation

No museum is neutral. The selection of which stories to tell, which voices to amplify, and which artifacts to display is inherently political. Notice what is missing. Why is there no exhibit on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacres impact on Colorados Black communities? Why are corporate lobbying efforts around water rights underrepresented? These omissions are as telling as the exhibits themselves.

Respect the Space as Sacred Ground

Many exhibits contain deeply personal artifactsletters from dying soldiers, clothing from victims of violence, ceremonial objects from Indigenous communities. Treat these with reverence. Do not touch unless permitted. Do not speak loudly near them. This is not just historyit is memory, grief, resilience.

Engage with the Staff

Museum educators, curators, and security personnel are often the most knowledgeable people in the building. They are not there to guard exhibitsthey are there to facilitate understanding. If you have a question, ask it. If youre confused, say so. Their insights can transform a surface-level visit into a profound intellectual experience.

Support the Mission

History Colorado Center is a nonprofit institution. Its Contemporary Wing operates on limited funding and relies on community support. Consider making a donation, becoming a member, or volunteering. Your contribution helps ensure that underrepresented stories continue to be preserved and shared.

Practice Ethical Storytelling

If youre moved to share your experience online, do so responsibly. Avoid reducing complex struggles to hashtags or viral quotes. Instead, link to the museums official resources, tag community partners, and credit the individuals whose stories were shared. Amplifynot appropriate.

Bring a Companion

Visiting with a friend, family member, or colleague can deepen your understanding. After your visit, discuss what you saw. Disagree. Challenge each other. The act of dialogue mirrors the democratic ideals the Contemporary Wing seeks to uphold.

Be Patient with Complexity

History is not tidy. The Contemporary Wing refuses to offer neat resolutions. A story about police reform may end without policy change. A mural about immigration may highlight division, not unity. Accept that ambiguity. It is part of the truth.

Leave Space for Silence

Some of the most powerful moments in the Contemporary Wing occur in quiet cornerswhere a single photograph hangs on a bare wall, or a looped audio recording of a childs voice whispers a memory. Dont rush past these. Sit. Listen. Let silence speak.

Tools and Resources

Official Website and Digital Archive

The History Colorado Center website (historycolorado.org) is your primary resource. It features:

• Current and past exhibit descriptions with multimedia content
• Online collections database with digitized artifacts from the Contemporary Wing
• Virtual tours of select installations
• Downloadable exhibit guides and educator resources

Use the Digital Collections portal to search for specific themese.g., Denver housing 1980s or Colorado LGBTQ protests. Many items are high-resolution and include curator notes.

Mobile App: History Colorado Explorer

Download the free History Colorado Explorer app before your visit. It offers:

• Audio guides narrated by community members featured in exhibits
• Interactive maps with timed visit recommendations
• AR features that overlay historical images onto your phones camera view
• Personalized itineraries based on your interests

The app also includes accessibility features: text-to-speech, closed captioning, and high-contrast mode.

Recommended Reading

Expand your understanding with these essential titles:

• Colorado: A History of the Centennial State by Carl Ubbelohde, Maxine Benson, and Duane Smith
• Water in the West: The Politics of Scarcity by Robert Glennon
• Indigenous Denver: Memories of a City by Andrew J. Jolivette
• The Other Side of the River: A Story of Two Towns, a Death, and Americas Dilemma by Alex Kotlowitz (relevant for understanding racial divides in Colorado towns)
• Denver: The City That Moved by John T. Dorr
• Chicano! The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement by Francisco A. Rosales

Many of these are available through the Denver Public Librarys Libby app.

Podcasts and Documentaries

Supplement your visit with these media:

• The Colorado River: Lifeblood of the West NPRs The Indicator series
• Five Points: The Heart of Black Denver Colorado Public Radio documentary
• Drought in the West PBS Frontline (2022)
• Voices of the Front Range History Colorados own podcast series
• Burning the Boats A film about Colorados undocumented youth movement

Local Partnerships

The Contemporary Wing collaborates with numerous community organizations. Explore their work:

• Denver Public Librarys Western History & Genealogy Department Free access to primary sources
• Colorado Humanities Offers public history grants and community storytelling programs
• Colorado Center for Law and Policy Research on housing, labor, and equity
• Indigenous Cultural Centers Such as the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Cultural Center in Concho, OK (with regional outreach in Denver)

Public Transportation and Accessibility

The History Colorado Center is easily accessible via Denvers RTD light rail (Denver Union Station stop) and multiple bus lines. The building is fully ADA-compliant with ramps, elevators, sensory-friendly hours, and ASL interpreters available upon request. Free parking is available nearby, but public transit is encouraged due to downtown congestion.

Volunteer and Internship Opportunities

History Colorado offers internships in curation, digital media, education, and community outreach. These are open to students and emerging professionals. Applications are accepted quarterly. Visit the Get Involved section of the website for details.

Real Examples

Example 1: The Water That Binds Us (20232024)

This exhibit explored Colorados water crisis through the lens of three communities: a rural farmer in San Luis Valley, a Navajo family on the reservation without running water, and a Denver developer building luxury condos near a reclaimed riverfront.

Visitors entered through a narrow corridor lined with dripping pipes and the sound of running water. At the end, a touchscreen allowed users to allocate water resources among the three groups. Most chose to give the majority to the developerrevealing unconscious biases about economic value versus human need. The exhibit ended with a wall of handwritten letters from Colorado residents pleading for water justice. Over 1,200 were collected during the exhibits run.

Example 2: Queer Denver: 19752000 (2022)

Curated by local LGBTQ+ historians and activists, this exhibit featured a reconstructed bar from the 1980s, a quilt made by HIV/AIDS survivors, and a video montage of drag performances from the old Cherry Creek neighborhood.

One of the most powerful elements was an audio booth where visitors could record their own coming-out stories. Over 300 recordings were collected. These were played on loop in a separate room, creating a chorus of voices that changed daily. The exhibit sparked a citywide initiative to preserve LGBTQ+ oral histories in public schools.

Example 3: The Dust We Carry (20212022)

This exhibit focused on the legacy of dust storms in eastern Colorado and their impact on migrant laborers. It included soil samples from 1930s farms, a recreated tent city, and interviews with descendants of Dust Bowl refugees who now work in Colorados agricultural industry.

Visitors were given small vials of soil to take homea symbolic gesture of bearing witness. The exhibit later traveled to rural schools in Kit Carson County, sparking student-led projects on environmental justice.

Example 4: Code and Community (2024)

Highlighting the rise of tech startups in Denvers RiNo district, this exhibit juxtaposed the success stories of app developers with the displacement of long-term residents. A large LED wall displayed real-time data on rent increases correlated with tech hiring spikes.

Interactive kiosks allowed visitors to build their own app using prompts like What problem should this solve? Many designed apps to address homelessness, language access, or public transit equityrevealing the publics desire for tech to serve community needs, not just profit.

FAQs

Is the Contemporary Wing suitable for children?

Yes, but with guidance. Many exhibits contain mature themes such as violence, displacement, and systemic injustice. Children under 12 should be accompanied by an adult who can help contextualize the material. The museum offers family activity sheets and a History Hunters scavenger hunt designed for younger visitors.

Do I need to book tickets in advance?

Advance booking is not required, but recommended during peak seasons (summer, holidays). General admission is free for Colorado residents with ID; out-of-state visitors pay a nominal fee. Members and children under 5 enter free.

How long should I plan to spend in the Contemporary Wing?

At least 90 minutes for a meaningful visit. If you engage with all interactive elements and attend a guided tour, plan for 23 hours. The entire History Colorado Center spans 140,000 square feet, but the Contemporary Wing typically occupies 10,00012,000 square feetenough to explore deeply without feeling overwhelmed.

Are there guided tours?

Yes. Free 45-minute guided tours of the Contemporary Wing are offered daily at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. No registration neededjust arrive 10 minutes early. Private group tours can be arranged for schools and organizations.

Can I bring food or drinks inside?

No food or drinks are permitted in the exhibit galleries. However, the museums caf offers locally sourced snacks and beverages in a designated area outside the Contemporary Wing.

Is the Contemporary Wing accessible to visitors with disabilities?

Yes. The museum is fully wheelchair accessible. Audio descriptions, tactile models, and large-print guides are available. Sensory-friendly hours are held on the first Saturday of each month, with reduced lighting and sound levels.

Can I donate artifacts or stories to the Contemporary Wing?

Yes. The museum actively collects contemporary materialsphotos, letters, clothing, digital mediathat reflect modern Colorado life. Submit inquiries through the Collecting Contemporary Colorado page on their website. Not all submissions are accepted, but all are reviewed with care.

Why does the Contemporary Wing change so often?

Because history is not finished. The Contemporary Wing exists to document the present as it becomes the past. Rotating exhibits ensure that new voices, emerging crises, and evolving identities are given space to be seen and heard.

Is there a gift shop?

Yes. The gift shop features works by Colorado artists, books on regional history, and items created by community partners featured in exhibits. Proceeds support museum programming.

How is the Contemporary Wing funded?

It is funded through a combination of private donations, state grants, corporate sponsorships, and earned revenue from admissions and events. No public tax dollars are used for exhibit developmentmaking community support essential.

Conclusion

Exploring the History Colorado Center Contemporary Wing is not about collecting facts. It is about cultivating presence. It is about listening to stories that challenge your assumptions, sitting with discomfort, and recognizing that history is not something that happenedit is something that continues to happen, right now, in the streets of Denver, the fields of Eastern Colorado, and the homes of its people.

This guide has provided you with the tools to move beyond surface-level observation. You now know how to navigate the non-linear narratives, engage with interactive elements, seek out marginalized voices, and extend your learning into the world beyond the museum walls. The Contemporary Wing does not offer closure. It offers connection.

As you leave, remember: every artifact on display was once someones reality. Every photograph was taken by someone who hoped to be seen. Every voice recording was a plea to be remembered. Your role is not to consume these storiesyou are invited to carry them forward.

Return often. Ask harder questions. Listen more deeply. And when you do, you wont just be visiting a museum. Youll be participating in the living, breathing archive of Colorados future.