MOMENTS THAT MADE US: SOUTHWEST COLORADO’S STORIES EXHIBIT
Exhibits tell stories by thoughtfully combining objects, images, and personal narratives to create a compelling journey through history. They use artifacts to spark curiosity and connect visitors with tangible pieces of the past, while interpretive panels, audio recordings, and multimedia displays provide context and meaning. In this way, exhibits help transform historical facts into lived experiences, inviting reflection, emotional connection, and a deeper understanding of the people and events that have shaped our communities.
Featured here are two exhibits now on view at History Colorado in Denver. One: Moments That Made Us is History Colorado’s master exhibit for the western states. The other, 38th Star: Colorado Becomes the Centennial State, reflects on the not-altogether-smooth path to Colorado statehood.
Locally This page will eventually present Southwest Colorado versions of these exhibits, which will localize the state’s exhibit by pairing objects and relevant oral histories, weaving together the stories of how each county in the SW Colorado region came to be what it is today and what might be in store in the future.
Upcoming, ONGOING ExHibits
At History Colorado, Denver
Moments That Made US
November 21, 2025 – October 18, 2026
Moments That Made Us is a marquee exhibition organized by History Colorado featuring fifty artifacts that witnessed the events that shaped the United States. The exhibition assembles treasures from the nation’s history rarely seen together. Visitors will see artifacts spanning eight centuries, drawn from Mesa Verde, Jamestown, Valley Forge, Appomattox Court House, Washington, DC, Ebbets Field, the moon, and more. In each of these turning points, visitors encounter different perspectives on the struggles, triumphs, setbacks, and resilience that made this nation.
Visitor Information: The exhibition is on display at the History Colorado Center in Denver and will run through October 18, 2026. Learn more about the exhibit and its viewing hours.
38th Star: HOW Colorado BecAme the Centennial State
September 26, 2025 – September 6, 2026
This exhibition explores Colorado’s long road to statehood. Our first four attempts at statehood throughout the 1860s were derailed by questions like who should be allowed to vote and what policies the government should adopt. Which economic interests - mining, agriculture, ranching, railroads, or others - should receive the most significant consideration? What good was being a state, anyway? Other voices were left out entirely. Southern Coloradans found themselves in a new territory they had never asked to be in, and Native people living across Colorado were displaced from their homelands. Each attempt at statehood faced political and power struggles as factions sought consensus in building a new state. This exhibition invites visitors to revisit the Centennial State’s origins through authentic photographs, documents, artifacts, and voices that shaped it. This is where Colorado begins. Learn more about the exhibit and its viewing hours.
On the Animas Museum YouTube Channel
Video Reflections on Becoming Southwest Colorado
Now and monthly through 2026
Maybe you are old enough to remember the “Bicentennial Minutes” broadcast by CBS from 1974 to 1976? These were a popular series of short videos that highlighted moments in the American Revolution. The Animas Museum, was inspired to do something similar based on the “Moments that Made US” theme, one of the initiatives at History Colorado for the sesquisemiquincentennial. Starting in January, 2026, the museum will be releasing a short video each month on our YouTube channel @animasmuseum, that will tie together an artifact and photographs with a story from an oral history, all from our collection. Visit the playlist link at the Animas Museum YouTube Channel