15 Best Museums in Denver, Colorado
Don’t miss these incredible museums while you’re in Denver, Colorado!
Located at the base of the Rocky Mountains, Denver is probably best known for its many outdoor activities, trendy downtown, and gorgeous scenery.
However, the Mile High City also has some renowned museums and performing art centers that shouldn't be skipped on your next visit.
Make sure to plan some time away from the ski slopes and hiking trails, and expand your knowledge of Colorado arts and culture at these fantastic museums for the entire family.
Exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
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Best Museums and Arts Experiences in Denver, CO
Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Helping my daughter and niece with a strawberry DNA project
While visiting the city on our Las Vegas to Denver road trip, this was one of my family’s first stops.
We spent a full day here and still didn’t see everything.
It’s one of the best kid friendly things to do in Denver, thanks to the many different interactive exhibits and experiences, but there’s plenty for adults to dive into as well.
In fact, it’s one of the biggest and most well done museums of natural science that we’ve been to so far, and it rivals the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Natural History in London, two of my favorite museums in the world.
There’s something here no matter what you’re interested in from dinosaurs to hands-on activities teaching patrons about DNA.
The base ticket provides more than you can do in just one visit, but you can also do add-ons for the on-site planetarium, theatre, laser shows, and temporary exhibits.
American Museum of Western Art
See the West through the eyes of artists over the last two centuries at the American Museum of Western Art.
The Anschutz Collection is housed in the beautiful Navarre Building, which dates to 1880.
NOTE: Kids under the age of 8 aren’t allowed in the museum.
The Artful Insights program helps visitors learn more about a particular artist or movement: participating is a great way to deepen your art history knowledge quickly. These programs are free and don’t require any pre-registration.
The Writing through the West program is a great one if you’re interested in the intersection of literature and fine arts, as a writing instructor guides participants through a session on a different genre each month.
Sie Film Center
Foreign and domestic, short films and full-length features: the Sie Film Center brings a little bit of everything to Denver.
Each year, the center shows more than 600 films from across the world, making it an incredible resource for anyone interested in international film and film history.
Tickets for showings are typically between $11 and $15 per person, and there's free parking in the garage.
Don't miss the center's main film festival in November, where you can catch showings of over 250 films. There are also 5 other, smaller but still excellent film festivals throughout the year focusing on less represented voices in cinema, including women, Asian Americas, and LBGTQ+.
The film center is located in downtown Denver, making it an easy add-on to any visit to the city.
Meow Wolf Convergence Station
A portion of intricately decorated ceiling at Meow Wolf Convergence Station | source
Meow Wolf Denver is part interactive art exhibit, part human interest museum, and completely fascinating!
You can simply wander through the whimsical and highly decorated retro-futuristic rooms, or work to solve the mysteries of this interdimensional transit station.
The colorful exhibits and galactic space mystery make this an artsy experience for the entire family.
We’ve also visited Meow Wolf Santa Fe with our kids, and it was equally amazing.
Denver Art Museum
One of the largest art collections in the Midwest, the Denver Art Museum offers collections in photography, textiles, pre-Colombian art, American Indian art, and more.
From Claude Monet's Waterlilies to Winslow Homer's Two Figures by the Sea to Jim Green's Singing Sinks, there's enough here to capture your imagination for hours.
The campus is huge, so plan to stay for at least half a day if you want to hit the highlights here. You could easily stay for a full day if you wanted to immerse yourself in multiple areas.
Denver Graffiti Tour
Sometimes, art isn’t in a museum: it’s on the walls and buildings around you.
The Denver Graffiti Tour is a great way to dive into the gritty street art of the Mile High City, and see it through the eyes of an experienced tour guide.
This walking tour is great for all ages, and passes by some of the city’s most iconic and colorful murals.
Each one tells as story of the city’s artists and art scene, and you can take the tour more than once and get a complete different experience!
Black American West Museum
Learn how African Americans helped to define the West in the 1800s in the fascinating Black American West Museum.
It is located in the home of Dr. Justina Ford's home, Denver's only female doctor until the 1930s.
Today, you can learn about her contributions, as well as those of the "Black Cowboys," teachers, miners, and soldiers who helped shape the history of Denver.
Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
Founded in 1996, the Museum of Contemporary Art is the only one in Denver solely dedicated to showcasing contemporary artwork.
Explore the 27,000 foot space and discover the artists who are revolutionizing the current art world.
Aurora History Museum
Take a look into the history of Aurora, which is located on the eastern edge of downtown Denver, and the state of Colorado in this ever-changing museum.
See collections of housewares, clothing, photographic equipment, and more, most of which was donated by Aurora residents.
There are also rotating and traveling exhibits available with your ticket, and you might learn about anything from Aurora’s growth to historic Route 66.
Molly Brown Museum
Molly Brown Museum exterior | source
Learn about the famous “Unsinkable” Molly Brown at this Denver museum, located at her former home.
Molly Brown, best known for surviving the sinking of the Titanic, but she was also a philanthropist, mother, and world traveler.
Molly was an early suffragette, and even ran for a seat in Congress.
You’ll learn about Molly, her husband, his engineering work, and the gold rush fortune that allowed them to build this home in the late 1800s.
There are exhibits in the home spanning different eras of Molly Brown’s life, including the Titanic sinking and related artifacts, the Colorado gold rush, and what family life was like for kids and parents in the west in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Colorado Railroad Museum
Step inside the replica 1880s railroad station at the Colorado Railroad Museum to learn about the past.
You'll be able to see photographs from Colorado's past, explore a reconstructed telegraph office, and see miniatures of the state's rail history.
The onsite roundhouse shows off the museum's collection of locomotives and the working turntable.
Cussler Museum
Author Clive Cussler, who is best known for his adventure-driven Dirk Pitt novels, assembled a collection of over 100 vintage cars in this museum.
Marvel over a 1929 Duesenberg, a 1921 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, a 1931 Chrysler Imperial Limousine, and many more.
Cussler was always interested in vintage cars, and began buying up cheap ones that needed work as a young adult. As his writing career took off, he used some of his newfound wealth to collect and restore even more cars.
It’s only open during the late spring and summer, so if you’re visiting Denver between May and September, and you love antique cars, definitely stop by.
Museum of Illusion
Up is down, down is up, and you just can’t believe your own eyes at the Denver Museum of Illusion.
The 50 different exhibits in this museum play with perception, vision, and expectation. One room will make you feel huge, while another seemingly shrinks you.
It’s great for kids, who can explore their way through the museum. No quiet zones or hands-off exhibits here!
Denver Botanic Gardens
The Denver Botanic Gardens are an outdoor museum dedicated to all things green and growing!
The beautiful displays sprawl across 24 acres in the heart of Denver, with different areas dedicated to Colorado native plants, Asian specimens, drought resistant plants, art installations, and much more.
For visiting families, be sure to stop by the Mordecai Children’s Garden, where kids can smell, touch, play, and move through a unique rooftop space.
The Gardens are located on the edge of Cheesman Park, which is a great place to have a picnic or relax after your visit.
