Museums have always been a part of our culture and have always inherited how we access our way of life and deeply study our past happenings. It might be the time to take children to learn more about the great deeds of our ancestors, or just as a Sunday visit to a historic site; museums provide you with an immersive experience with some good insightful knowledge.
However, with the way things are shaping, the government has also played quite an important role in understanding the tremendous impact of museums in our day-to-day lifestyle, due to which they are also taking humongous steps in enriching the management and making them sustain longer.
Colorado Springs has also been a place that people visit more often in search of these kinds of entertaining museums, and it is no wonder why Colorado Springs also holds a special position in providing you with these great exceptional pieces.
14 Unique Museums in Colorado Springs
Museums are known as places where anyone, no matter their age or gender, can visit and get entertained with an equal amount of learning from the place. Most museums are designed in such a manner that it is bugged up with a plethora of information, and this information makes the base of attractions, making the museums more interesting to visit.
With different interests of visitors, the museums are designed with different specializations, making it quite interesting to hold the visitor’s interest and becoming a great stop for your educative entertainment. Here are some of the best museums in Colorado Springs with colorful histories and unique specializations, that stand out in the extensive collection.
1. Olympic and Paralympic Museum
Olympic City in the USA has been widely recognized worldwide for its glorious history and has always been the center of attraction. This Olympic and Paralympic museum is one of the top museums located in the Olympic City of the USA, which comes under Colorado Springs. This museum is solely dedicated to the athletes, and it would have been unjustified to discuss how the great Olympic City does not contain any museums dedicated to its great athletes.
The Olympic and Paralympic Museum is completely dedicated to the monumental features of great endurance and strength with the athletes’ dedication. These remarkable achievements are designed quite into different ultramodern designs, attached with impeccable and incredible interactive displays and designs, followed by advanced technologies.
The museum is designed in such a unique manner that it generates attractions. With the visit, one can get insightful knowledge about the outstanding Olympic and Paralympic athletes while having fun with the special experience that goes on alongside the journey.
The museum also provides and facilitates various special events, including the enigma of the personal visits of the athletes and the specialties like autographs or pictures that are added to the museum. This museum, in total, offers visitors a deep knowledge about the life of the Olympians and how rough their lives had been.
2. Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum
Just like a lot of other museums that are destroyed with time and never stood the test of time, the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum is one of them. It was established in the year 1903 originally, and with a lot of time intervals, it has been constructed again and again and destructed likewise. It was constructed to house town offices, and later on, the Pioneer Museum in Denver Springs was turned into a parking lot.
This Pioneer Museum is still standing today due to community work, but in the 1960s and 1970s, this museum was slated for destruction for some reasons. With the reconstruction, it was again established in the year 1979, and this museum passionately reflects the history and passion for the history of the people of Colorado Springs.
The Natural History Museum also features a historic cage elevator from 1917, which has become the center of attraction. This great museum can also be visited with the whole family.
The visitors can also be ridden in this kind of cage elevator, learn a lot about the building’s past, and have regular entertainment for a few hours. Along with this, the museum also contains marble columns that can be notified to you and be understood you by the tour guides, and the magnificent staircases also capture almost everyone’s attention out of nowhere.
3. National Museum of World War II Aviation
The National Museum of World War II Aviation holds a special position among all, being a national museum and holding the pride of the Western museums. This World War II Aviation has been intriguingly designed in such a manner that it provides an extensive facility to relive and inspire the intrinsic happenings of World War II.
The key specialty of the museum lies in the uniqueness that one can find in World War II Aviation, which is the way it is designed, highlighting the exceptional American history in the field of aviation. This spectacular museum is located outside the Denver Springs airport. It has been designed by amazing and visionary artists who have beautifully and subtly crafted the history of America’s aviation in the gallery.
In support of that, the Air Force Academy is located in The Springs making it quite an active part of the museum. Because of this, the museum holds quite a strong bond with aviation. Along with this, there is also something that goes behind the museum, which makes it quite interesting.
A company for aircraft restoration named, WestPac Restoration, also works closely with the museum, as they mutually work in the mission which focuses on restoring military history.
4. Space Foundation Headquarters and Discovery Center
Museums hold quite an important part of our history and make it remarkable for the future generation of kids to remember their past and know the world as it was before. This Space Foundation’s headquarters and Discovery Center are science- and technology-based space museums in Colorado Springs.
As it is a technology museum, with entertainment, people are also educated about the use of space-related activities. The people who have a keen interest in astronomy and space science, also school kids find it quite fun to visit, and it has become the core of attractions. It is generally an ideal place for students and children to visit and explore the details and insightful knowledge of the space. This gives them a fulfilling and unique experience to cherish in life.
Along with all this, there are also a lot of fun-filled activities that can make the children quite busy and engaged, and they can also explore and get entertained with them. With a first step in and a little exploration, you can feel that the time you spend here is worth it, and you are surely going to learn a lot when you step outside.
Attached to this, they also have an amazing shopping and gift shop, which holds a lot of interesting things and can offer you many mind-blowing things to come back home with. In a nutshell, this is a very good family-centered museum that takes care of everyone’s needs and gives a memorable experience for the kids and their parents.
5. Ghost Town Museum
Intriguingly amalgamated with the blends of entertainment and historical stories, the Ghost Town Museum in Colorado Springs is a perfect place to visit when faced with a monotonous life. The museum is quite interestingly designed keeping the earliest times of Colorado Springs and with the first step in, you can get the vibes of getting transported into the time, while you are walking through the Ghost Town historic sites.
Colorado Springs is believed to be mushroomed with these kinds of abandoned towns, which are rarely safe to visit.
It is because of the average family members, who won’t be comfortable with tetanus, venomous snakes, spiders, and all these which may seem fantasy but are not. Hence, this Ghost Town Museum in Colorado Springs gives a golden opportunity for visitors to explore and learn about real buildings in a better, safer, and easier way possible. Also, while traversing, you can learn a lot about the site and structures more easily.
On a positive basis, the museum also features more than 1000 artifacts, which showcase the life history of the pioneers and miners who lived long ago. This provides the kids with an arcade full of interesting games to play with and a shooting gallery to visit, and it also gives an insightful look at all the unique and interesting facts that are etched in our history.
6. ANA Money Museum at Colorado College
Of all the interestingly designed museums in Colorado Springs, the ANA Money Museum is dedicated to the largest collection of American Paper Currency. This attraction is located near Colorado College and the American Numismatic Association established it.
The sole intention of the establishment of the museum was to educate the people about the collection, study the formation of public currency, and encourage them to do this. This intention of entertaining people and educating the public with this subtle topic makes it unique and one of a kind.
It takes you back to the history when credit and debit cards were just for the namesake. Through this, you can discover the history of money, represented by the largest exhibit showing the evolution from the nothingness of shells to credit cards.
This museum in Colorado also gives you enough information about the money-making procedure in the Renaissance era and how the mini-mint used to work. So, in a nutshell, this ANA Money Museum is just an interactive museum about the mints in the real-time gallery, which can give you a lot of fun when you visit.
7. Manitou Cliff Dwellings
Making it quite an interesting study of regional history, this national museum is way richer in its culture and spirit than it seems. When you pay a visit to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, Hands-on is just a phrase that you can get promised out of your expectations. Generally, people do not expect this while visiting a museum comprising ancient artifacts. Still, this Manitou Cliff dwelling is just something out of the regular Colorado Springs museums.
The place is so welcoming that, you can also take your pet around this, without any inch of doubt. The cliffs of the dwellings were meticulously transported from McElmo Canyon, south of Colorado, around 150 years ago. This makes it quite a place rich in colorful history and celebrating it.
The dwellings are as old as around 100 years old. The walls and dwellings have stood the test of time, and no wonder how the colorful history of the past has painted them with and has made their resonance stronger.
Putting steps into this historical brilliance, you can feel the arousal and goosebumps of all the way the natives once lived way back in these structures. You can also explore these places more often, walk amongst them, learn more about the indigenous people, and learn about the structures of the past.
This fun place also provides an amazing experience with its beautiful surroundings. Also, it facilitates some amazing galleries and gift shops, which are filled with meticulously crafted handmade items that you can treasure beyond your experience.
8. Miramont Castle Museum in Colorado Springs
The Miramont Castle Museum in Colorado Springs is one of the oldest historic buildings in Manitou Springs. It is famous for its castle with a Victorian tearoom and daily high yeas above the Manitou Springs, making it an honest-to-goodness castle.
This castle displays the historical aspects of the early 1700s and is an absolute treasure. This beautiful museum allows you to enjoy it without a tour guide, making it a self-guided tour with some mesmerizing spaces and the Manitou’s past contemplated in the museum’s odd-shaped, beautiful, and fascinating rooms.
The exhibition also contains historic furniture and decor and permanent exhibits about Manitou Springs’s history. The natural beauty of nature also makes you look more fabulous, with the stunning flowers blossoming and coming alive in the summer, while the snowy winter makes the days quite burst out of pamper and bosom.
To make the stay more entertaining and full of pop and snow, the castle also hosts some great spaces filled with fun and fascinating events to make it all connected to its history and make history more happening and memorable. Out of all, the Victorian Christmas celebration in the haunting Halloween tours stands out for the visitors and squeezes out all the fun.
With all the fascinating events going on, the tearoom cannot be missed at any cost. The Queen’s Parlor is a little cup of heaven filled with lavishly decorated and brimming with lace and charm. It makes you feel so relaxed and gives you the best time out of your monotonous life.
So, out of all the museums and castles, this castle allows you to have a relaxing time with some Victorian splendor, treating your taste with some taste delicacies, a variety of teas, and delicious treats.
9. Pikes Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation
People find many museums related to different interests and fashions of the world. You can find museums related to cinema, postal services, the Space Foundation Discovery Center, and some Western museums dedicated to the history of the country’s wars. However, it is difficult to find a museum related to trolley transport in Colorado Springs.
This attraction located in the Pikes Peak region of Colorado Springs, is decorated with the restored trolley and presents an interesting tour along with a variety of events that showcase the history of transportation by trolley.
Being a national museum, it also provides you with tour guides who can help you learn the regional history of the significant place and have an entertaining time with your whole family. Pikes Peak region has always been a crowded place around the world which is famous for its beautiful surroundings for kids and this amazing railway foundation museum will just add up to your impressive collection of memories.
The tour guides are also helpful. Along with sipping some coffee on a Sunday morning, you can also learn a lot of interesting facts about the developments of trolley trains and normal trains, including the regional history of the town of Colorado Springs. Hence, this museum will be something that you can be proud of visiting and being one of those elite people out of many, who have an immense knowledge about the development of trolleys and trains.
9.1. Pikes Peak Trolley Museum
Being a subordinate of the Pikes Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation, this Pikes Peak Trolley Museum and Restoration Shops, located in the Pikes Peak Region of Colorado Springs, are another local heritage treasure that holds the essence of the regional history. The former storehouse and workshop of the Museum served as some train depots from Rock Island and later were transformed into the Museum by the Railway Foundation.
The master stroke by the railway foundation made Colorado Springs one of the industrial heartlands of the World today, making it a significant mark in outshining great industrial outlooks and designing the city with outstanding museums, dedicating them to its mastery. This Trolley Museum is now designed into two stalls, and the transportation history is still alive and etched in the walls of the museum.
Not only this, but this museum also houses trolleys and train carriages, while some are still working and undergoing rehabilitation, making it prominent to work.
Given the historic and exemplary setting of America’s first automobile of its type, you can also find the beautiful and bright yellow bunny car trolley, which originally ran at Fort Collins, here and know the richness of the past. So, may it be the Street Railway Foundation or the Pikes Peak Trolley Museum, you can never miss a chance to visit these stand-out places.
10. Western Museum of Mining & Industry
Of all the entertaining materials getting into the limelight of public attention, the mining industry was something that felt left out of the public domain. But this amazing Western Museum of Mining and Industry plays an important role in preserving the mining and industrial activities in the United States.
This amazing industry was established in 1967 in Colorado Springs. It is a great place to see the effects of the industries on our nation in this era, and how different things get affected by the functioning of the mining industries.
Filled with interactive displays, this museum is wholly dedicated to the labor and happenings of the impeccable past of Mining and Industry. Although this is something which people do not find interesting, the interesting tour guides make it easy and interesting to roam and educate yourself with amazing facts. With this, you can also explore the subtle mining equipment that is not very well known and available in regular life, and this makes history more interesting.
11. Pikes Peak Children’s Museum
Making it a boring job for young people and adults to enjoy a luxurious time around the museums, young people do not make much interest in visiting these kinds of museums which keep a mind in educating people.
However, one of a museum in Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak Children’s Museum dedicates its utmost interest activities towards children and young adults. It is one of those rare Colorado Springs Museums that takes the whole responsibility of Pikes Peak Children’s Museum for kids and offers numerous activities for young adults.
It is believed that children have a creative imagination, and it needs to be cherished out of everything. This idea of the Museum gives enough scope and creativity for kids’ imagination throughout the day. Not a money sucker, this museum in Colorado Springs provides a wide range of activities and fun-filled sessions for families who are looking for an interesting and happening day for their children.
It is because people are quite busy with their tight schedules these days, and handling their kids in between and while they are having fun becomes quite a mundane job. This is where the Pikes Peak Children’s Museum barges in, making a perfect way out for them.
To keep it simple and not mess things up for children, several themes are designed perfectly such as a building room, a kitchen, an artwork, and a vet room. With all this, you can easily feel safe for your kid to have three. Do not judge the book by its cover; allow yourself to pay a visit to this amazing museum in Colorado Springs.
12. May Natural History Museum
It becomes difficult to stand out and make your significance out of every museum that is mushroomed around Colorado Springs, but not for May Natural History Museum. It gives an exceptional feel from all the museums you may visit in Colorado Springs. Name it unique different or exceptional, you can feel it from the very start of the entrance when you see a surprisingly huge Hercules beetle named Herkimer greet you inside the spectacular museum.
It may sound weird and different to believe, but in reality, this whole museum that you will walk into with an entertainment purpose is nothing but just a Bug museum, which holds the capability of making you not so a unique day, unique all of a sudden.
This May Natural History Museum in Colorado Springs has one of the largest collections of insects, mostly bugs. Late James May, who was the founder of the exemplary museum was the prolific collection collector travelling around the globe to gather more than 7000 insect species.
Not only this, but he also distributed them to the whole globe, making them reach different scientific centers and different research centers. So, keeping all the assumptions behind, make your earliest trip to this unique and spectacular May Natural History Museum in Colorado Springs and witness the collection yourself.
13. Penrose Heritage Museum in Colorado Springs
Museums are built with different intentions and different collections of things worldwide. But in the end, what makes it common is that every one of the museums wants it to be the remembrance of some things. The Penrose Heritage Museum in Colorado Springs was also a brainchild of such a couple, Spencer Penrose and Julia Penrose, who established this beautiful museum in the year 1941.
The sole intention of making this place was to find a place where they could keep their own personal things and collection of carriages.
This whole wagon was built by the couple at the end of the 20th century, and it carries a rich heritage and a story about its utilization at the time. At first, this business was founded by Spencer Penrose, and a museum was situated near the Broadmoor Hotel. This hotel and museum are quite fascinating and give a spectacular view from start to finish.
If you wish, you can also have a quick and accessible exhibition of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb Race Car, which is also present near the fascinating museum. Out of all the belongings that are put on the brink of the Penrose family, you can also have an insightful look into that and, at the same time, carry on some great activities and enjoy some quality time with your whole family hovering around.
14. The Michael Garman Museum & Gallery
This Western museum, the Michael Garman Museum in Colorado Springs, is dedicated to the works of the American artist Michael Garman on the exhibition of works and focuses on its exemplary works. Of all the museums making it quite difficult to relate to, this museum makes it quite relatable to the works of Michael Garman and his way of working. Artists are hardly respected the way they should be, and the museum named and dedicated to this wonderful artist does justice to his hard work.
The museum holds more than 500 sculptures that were created in his own right, and it also has an old model town that can make you feel his happenings. The great artist’s works attract more tourists than any other and call itself a Magic City.
The subtle detailing of the works and their designs proves that art never dies, no matter how the artist may die. This remarkable detailing and small presence makes the museum stand out on its own, and the people’s praise is all that grooves around. This scavenging activity of the museum is really fun; not only old people but also kids and your whole family can feel the aura of this amazing museum in Colorado Springs.
Conclusion
Museums and Colorado Springs are quite a couple that have been entertaining people for years and long. Museums in Colorado Springs are mushroomed around with different themes and different styles designed. Undoubtedly, these will be the places you will cherish in your hearts forever.
The art, culture, traditions, and rich history will always make you feel wise about the wisdom you will get to gain here. An escape into this world of museums will be a thing you will never forget. So, to mark your presence with the best of the world’s museums, visit the museums in Colorado Springs.
Last Updated on by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology
