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Exhibit Info
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Living Off the Land Exhibit Features

The Children's Museum of Durango is proud to offer a Natural Food Store, complete with a conveyor belt and check-out counter with cash register. Durango Natural Foods' generous sponsorship made this exhibit possible. Child-sized aprons displaying the DNF logo are available for would-be cashiers, while various healthful foods and personal care items are available for purchase!

An Oak Tree House Reading Hollow towers above the ground floor. This loft area is complete with blankets and pillows as well as selected books from the Living Off the Land reading list. Children can crawl into this quiet area and snuggle up by the window for a bit of reading, or peer out through the branches over the Museum to see what friends are up too! If another activity looks enticing, a quick escape is no problem with a fireman's pole and slide easily accessible ways to return to the earth. This exhibit was generously sponsored and the tree constructed by Nature Joe.

Beneath the Oak Tree House Reading Hollow lies the underworld! What Lies Beneath the Soil is an amazing exhibit with dim red lighting, textured soil walls, roots from the oak tree hanging down from the ceiling and a habitat which is the home of our own gopher snake, Bianca! What Lies Beneath the Soil was created by Nature Joe and was a collaborative effort between Nature Joe, Creative Concrete, UBC Lumber, Tim Walsworth, Phillips Electric, San Juan Drywall and Kroegers.

One of the most popular exhibits we have to offer is a Tropical Fish Tank. This tank was generously donated to the Children's Museum of Durango by the Kiwanis Club of Durango . This tank includes the following fish species: Pictus Catfish, Albino Tinfoil Barb, Blood Parrot, Gold Severum, Convict Cichlid, Giant Danio, Jewel Cichlid, Kribensis, Texas Cichlid, Plechostomas and Black Shark. The Tropical Fish Tank provides our visitors with endless entertainment and guided education on many diverse fish species of the world.

The Organic Growth Area provides a sensory experience with organic potting soil, as well as an opportunity for children to plant and tend to several different types of seeds. We offer tools, gardening aprons, small cups and care/ transplant instructions for Skyscraper Sunflowers, Early Scarlet Globe Radish and Early Alaska Peas. The Organic Growth Area also displays three Root View Growth boxes where children can actually observe what lies beneath the soil when growing carrots, onions and radishes!

A Farm and Ranch Dramatic Play Area allows children to practice the art of pretending as they dress up as a cow, pig or horse, put on a creative production in the table top puppet theater, or create a ranch scene with our red wooden barn, wood blocks, corral fences and barnyard animals!

The Infant and Toddler Area is a fenced, shoeless environment with many soft, age appropriate toys, a wooden squirrel hutch for cooking, and a Farmer's Market stand for selling fresh fruits and vegetables. This area displays a mural of animal in our Rocky Mountain ecosystem by local Durango artist, Rachel Schwery.

In a joint effort between James Ranch, Glacier Club and Christopher Marona Photography, the Children's Museum proudly displays a 12 x 8 foot photographic mural of James Ranch by Christopher Marona! Adding a 3- dimensional flare, a planter sits in front of the mural displaying native grasses of the Rocky Mountains.

Two very special areas of the Museum are the Recycling Center and the Food Donation Corner. The Recycling Center allows visitors to recycle plastic, glass and aluminum and offers information about the benefits of recycling and the effect of Carbon Footprints and how kids can reduce their daily impact. The Food Donation Corner allows children to take a proactive role in their community by helping those less fortunate. Food donation reduces the cost of admission and benefits the Manna Soup Kitchen!

Semi-Permanent Exhibits

Some exhibits travel in and out of the Museum because they have permanent, established sponsors who donate materials or underwrite the cost. These exhibits are not usually in the Museum all at once.

• Robotics: build and expand your own robot.
  
• Observation Deck: look through a periscope, microscope, telescopes, kaleidoscope, and binoculars into the outside world.
  
• Grocery Store: shop using kid-sized carts and bag it up at the real checkout belt and counter.
  
• Light and Dark: make light patterns on the Light Board, watch laser patterns, and make lightning on the Lightning Table.
  
• Wood Shop: build something using hammers, drills, saws, and other tools.
  
• Take-aparts: take apart computers and household appliances, and try to figure out how they work.
  
• Creative Space: make craft and art projects with a variety of materials.
  

Destination Mars
This exhibit offered a MarScape, photos from Mars and Earth, a weighing-on-Mars activity, a space library, interaction with live weather reports of Martian weather conditions, a volcano-making activity, a Martian Meteorite, virtual tours and touchable terrains.

Nature and Me
This exhibit allowed visitors to explore nature that surrounds us and learn about the impact we have on one another. Visitors explored trees, insects, and mammals, visited a forest campsite, and examined the effect of fire in nature.

Great Explorations
Featured lightning, magnets, a grocery store and diner, robotics, and a construction zone. Filming and toddler growth areas were also included. Lots of science and creative exploration highlighted this exhibit!

The Secret Life of Trees
"The Secret Life of Trees" exhibit provided children with an understanding of and appreciation for the natural history of trees, especially those in and around the Four Corners area. It allowed children to view trees in ways that they never had before, by being able to walk "inside" a tree, play a game in which they were "trees" trying to live through adversity, and becoming "beavers" that built dams out of trees. There were many hands-on activities and weekend workshops that extended children's learning about trees and their value to our community.

This exhibit won an award from the Colorado Tree Coalition, which is a state-wide, non-profit organization dedicated to helping people plant and properly care for trees in their community.

Kokopelli's World
Children were able to grind corn using ancient manos and metates, discover artifacts in an archaeological dig, climb down a ladder into a pit house, and explore a canyon maze.<

Seeds, Shovels, and Sun: A Garden's Life
Children learned about gardens by using gardening tools, exploring the miracle of seeds growing into plants, and shopping in a mini Farmers Market.

Goin' Batty
Kids learned about the natural history of bats through various hands-on activities. They could flap like a bat by wearing a harness with bat wings and being hoisted in the air; eat what bats eat at the Bat Café; and learn how baby bats find their mothers in a dark cave.

Trash Terminators
In this exhibit, children learned about the three R's - reduce, reuse, recycle - and the natural resources used in producing medicines and products.

Museum Hours:
Wed - Fri
10:00 - 5:00
Sat - Sun 1 - 5

Closed
Monday & Tuesday

Available for Scheduled Parties by Appointment

Admission:
Adults: $4.00
Age 3 & up: $4.00
Under 3: FREE
Grandparents: FREE
Family of 4 or more: $15
Donations appreciated

802 E. 2nd Ave
Upstairs in the
Durango Arts Center
970-259-9234
970-259-6320 fax
Email us!

Museum Director:
Amy De Prospo

Museum Floor Manager:
Ashley Hein

Museum Floor Associates:
Dawn Jose

Board of Directors:
Dana Burns
Kelly DiGiacomo
Joe Duckett
Nicole Fabrey
Lisa Ferrell
Heidi Goodman
Sarah Tippie



CMD and DDM Board Area