EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES
At Golden’s history museums, you can discover dinosaur bones, detect earthquakes and create solar energy all in a day’s trip. Golden Colorado is home to the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and the Colorado School of Mines.
CSM
At the Colorado School of Mines you can visit the CSM Geology Museum and the NEIC. The Geology Museum is home to one of the state’s two Goodwill moon rocks collected during the Apollo 17 mission, displays of mineral, fossil, gemstone, meteorite and a simulated uranium mine. The NEIC, responsible for tracking earthquakes around the world, offers free tours by appointment.
NREL
NREL’s Visitors Center has transitioned to an Education Center and now offers a variety of program topics and experiences for student and adult groups addressing renewable energy and energy efficiency innovations. Group programs are available at no charge. A launch-pad for energy innovations, NREL is home to world-renowned energy experts and research. The lab leads the way in analyzing energy integration, energy supplies, and economic impacts. Advanced scheduling is required for all groups.
DINOSAURS!
Golden’s history goes as far back as the dinosaurs. Visitors can view fossils and dinosaur bones at the nearby Dinosaur Ridge or along the Triceratops Trail. The Triceratops Trail is a self-guided multi-purpose trail in Golden taking visitors through 68 million years of Colorado pre-history, with footprints and impressions left by dinosaurs, birds, mammals, plants and insects.
Dinosaur Ridge, located a few miles south of Golden provides visitors to learn about Golden’s original inhabitants – dinosaurs. Visitors can enjoy the onsite gift shop, educational workshops and interpretive programs or see 100 million year old dinosaur tracks sit atop layers of sand and mudstone, the pads of the toes and patterns of migration seen in over 300 footprints and 37 trackways.