Collections Volunteer opportunity

Have you ever visited a museum and wondered what it would be like behind the scenes, getting to handle and interact with the artifacts? Now you can find out!

The Lafayette History Museum has over 4,000 objects that tell the unique story of Lafayette's past, and we need people to help us keep everything catalogued and safe. 

We'll train you in the details of our digital database and how to handle artifacts. All we ask is that you:

• Show up on time and are engaged while you're at the museum
• Are comfortable using computers
• Can work independently, but ask questions when needed
• Are detail-oriented and thorough 

This is a great volunteer opportunity to put on your resume to show that you are thoughtful, detail-oriented, self-motivated, and care about engaging in your community.

Time commitment: At least one, two-hour shift each month. Anytime Wed.-Fri. from 9am-5pm.

If interested, reach out to Chelsea at: info@lafayettehistoricalsociety.org

You may have seen ads and billboards around that say "The Storm is Coming." The "storm" refers to the History Colorado Center's newest 7,000-square-foot exhibit, Living West -- an experiential journey into the deep relationships between Colorado's people and the land through three stories: life in the Mesa Verde region 800 years ago, the 1930s Dust Bowl on the southeastern plains, and today’s Rocky Mountains. 

And guess what, the storm is here. Living West opens on Saturday, November 23. Come for opening weekend, November 23-24, and not only do visitors get to be among the first to see this groundbreaking exhibit, but also enjoy a day filled with free live performances, crafts, and chats with the experts involved.

History Colorado’s exhibit developers worked with environmental and archaeological experts from around the state to weave environmental history into the human story. Living West also features plenty of hands-on interactives that appeal to both kids and adults. 

With water as a consistent theme, Living West examines the impact of water on human and natural habitats and the implications of issues we face today, like pine beetles, wildfire, increasing wildlife interactions and alpine snowpack on the mountains Coloradans love.

While the Mesa Verde and Dust Bowl sections of the exhibit look at our history, the Our Mountains section tells a contemporary story. Experts from the University of Colorado helped exhibit developers to highlight why the pine beetle epidemic is taking place in the Rocky Mountains, and the Boulder Daily Camera and 9NEWS provided footage and information about the devastating 2010 Fourmile Canyon fire. 9NEWS also partnered with History Colorado to produce a video about the September 2013 floods. 

In the Mesa Verde section, tribal representatives from the Santa Clara, Zia, Acoma and Zuni pueblos and the Hopi Tribe assisted with both exhibit content and the selection of nearly 200 artifacts from History Colorado’s renowned Mesa Verde collections that illuminate the lives of ancestral Pueblo people.

Visitors also experience the epic 1935 Black Sunday dust storm that rolled across the southeastern plains in a special "object theater."

Visitors can measure their water and carbon footprint, divert water to thirsty areas across the state and more via interactive components developed in partnership with the Science Museum of Minnesota, which also provided design and fabrication services for Living West.

In Living West, visitors explore how people have struggled, survived and thrived in Colorado’s fierce and fragile landscape, with each gallery designed to generate conversation about the environmental choices Coloradans have made and continue to make.

Living West is presented in partnership with Denver Water, with generous support from the Gates Family Foundation.

Living West launches History Colorado's second of three exhibition phases. The second phase also features new educational programs, live museum theater, demonstrations and performances, as well as two traveling exhibits coming in 2014: Food: Our Global Kitchen from the American Museum of Natural History and RACE: Are We So Different?, a project of the American Anthropological Association.

Admission to Living West is included in the cost of a general admission ticket, which includes all History Colorado Center exhibits. The cost is $12 adults, $10 students/seniors 65+, $8 children 6-12; children 5 and under are free. Tickets can be purchased online in advance.

Download the Living West Activity Book posted online for information on how your child can get free admission to the museum (hint: it's a fun craft).

For complete information, visit www.HistoryColoradoCenter.org.

History Colorado is a statewide organization that inspires generations to find wonder and meaning in our past and to engage in building a better Colorado. Find out more about History Colorado, a Smithsonian Affiliate, on Facebook, twitter @HistoryColorado, HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY.

From shifts in the economy to advances in technology, the career choices of Americans have changed dramatically since the 1900s. Since the days when “farmer” was a popular occupation, to the present when 50 percent of the top 20 fastest growing jobs are in healthcare, career choices have certainly shifted over time. To illustrate the shift, Bryant & Stratton College, an institution that has been at the forefront of workplace education & training since the 1850s, recently released an infographic illustrating the History of Careers in America.

To view the infographic and learn more, please visit http://www.bryantstratton.edu/CareersInAmerica.aspx