Events

Saturday

June 1

2 - 3 p.m.

Birds of Prey Day

FAMILY EVENT

Estes Park is home to several birds of prey including golden eagles, turkey vultures, falcons, and hawks. These fascinating creatures are suited for life in the craggy rock outcroppings such as Lumpy Ridge. Flock to the Museum for a special demonstration from the Birds of Prey Foundation, an organization that helps rehabilitate and release raptors into the wild. 

The program will feature live birds and a discussion about how raptors contribute to the ecology and natural history of Estes Park. Cost is $5 for adults, $15 for a family, and free for children under 10 years old. Space is limited, first come-first served.

Thursday

June 13

& Friday

June 14

10:30 a.m. - Noon                                                                                                                                                                      

Storytime & Tiny Trek

CHILDREN'S PROGRAM

Meet at the Estes Valley Library located at 335 E Elkhorn Ave., 

Estes Park, CO 80517

Come hit the trail and explore the great outdoors with the Estes Valley Library's youth services team. A variety of fun activities include make your own trail mix station (peanut free), a mapping course, a nature scavenger hunt and stories, songs and puppet show all about hiking and camping. This program is especially suited for families with children ages 6-years-old and under. Meet at the Library, hike to the Birch Cabin (less than 10 minute walk) for storytime and on to the top of the hill for more special activities. Alicia Mittelman, Curator of Education at the Estes Park Museum will be on hand to answer questions about the Birch Cabin and the Knoll Willows Open Space. Free, no reservations required. Sponsored by the Estes Valley Library.

Wednesday

June 19

10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Art of Sculpture

CHILDRENS ART WORKSHOP

Children ages 11-15 years old are invited to learn about and create their own sculpture. Sculptures are an important part of the downtown landscape and a fascinating process for making art. Beginning at the Estes Park Museum, Lynda Vogel, Director of the Cultural Arts Council of Estes Park and a guest artist; will instruct students on the process of making bronze sculptures. Each student will create their own clay sculpture to take home with them. After the art activity, the group will then explore a sample of bronze sculptures outdoors by walking to see the elk “Sampson” sculpture at HWY 7 and US 36 and then boarding a bus to explore the sculptures downtown. Alicia Mittelman, Curator of Education will share stories about the natural and human history behind each of the works and about the artist that created them.

Cost is $25 to cover materials and instruction. Class limited to 10 students. Students are asked to bring a sack lunch. Adults may drop their child off at the Estes Park Museum located at 200 Fourth Street at 10 a.m. and pick them up there at 2 p.m. Registration is open for 10 people and is necessary to participate. Contact Alicia Mittelman, Curator of Education at the Museum at 970-577-3762 or amittelman@estes.org to reserve a space.

Saturday

June 29

2 p.m.

"Then" Presentation

TENTH ANNUAL HISTORIC TOUR

This year the Estes Park Museum Friends & Foundation, Inc. decided to try something entirely different; a new and exciting experiment. Instead of historic buildings, the Museum Friends will present an interpretive tour of historic sites. Over the years many lodges and other structures disappeared, this tour will bring them back, at least in your imagination, so that you can appreciate history in a new way. Estes Park Historian Laureate, Jim Pickering will lead this journey through “Then & Now.”

Join Pickering for a guided exploration of sites through images on old postcards and photographs to learn about what happened at these special places. Deer Ridge Chalet, Fall River Lodge, Cascade Lodge, the convict cabins on Fall River Road and the Horseshoe Inn, to name a few, will be examined. The presentation is free and open to the public. Tickets for the September 14 “Now” tour will go on sale that afternoon, following the presentation. Beginning on June 30th, tickets will be for sale on the Museum Friends’ website www.estesparkmuseumfriends.org (MC/Visa) or mail your check to EPMF&F. Physical tickets will not be sold at the Museum.

Thursday

July 18

7 - 8 p.m.

Digging Allenspark: 1864 Comes to Life

ARCHEAOLOGY PRESENTATION

The namesake of Allenspark, Alonzo Allen, built a cabin east of town in 1864—all that remains is the fireplace. The cabin was rumored to have burned to the ground in 1894, the year of his death—Did it really burn? How big was the cabin and what did it look like?

With questions like these in her head, historian Edie DeWeese, the 2012 Historic Boulder “Preservationist of the Year” award-winner, set about to see just exactly what could be discovered about Allen’s cabin. She contacted the Front Range archaeology group and a professor from the University of Northern Colorado to help. The outcome was a site survey that unearthed artifacts lending to some fascinating answers and raising a few more questions.

DeWeese’s presentation, “Digging Allenspark,” includes documented photographs of the dig and accounts about the man who gave Allenspark his name. Free presentation at the Estes Park Museum. No reservations required.

(This program is identical to the one offered on April 27, 2013)

Sunday

July 21

1:30 to 6 p.m.

Rocky Ridge Music Center Tour and Concert

TOUR & CONCERT

Rocky Ridge Music Center was founded in 1942 and is one of the oldest summer music camps in the country. It is located at the foot of 14,259 ft. Longs Peak in the heart of Rocky Mountain National Park. The music center is the site of the historic Hewes-Kirkwood Lodge encompassing 17 acres that provide a stunning backdrop for performances and reflection.

Charles Hewes, son of Mary Kirkwood, embraced the ethic of building in harmony with nature; he used local stone and fire-killed timber to construct a lodge, dining hall and guest cabins beginning in 1907. When not running the Inn, Hewes devoted his time to writing novels and poetry, including "The America," an epic poem he worked on for 17 years and published in 1941. Hewes was a staunch opponent of the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park; he feared it would bring commercial development to the area. This stance put him at odds with his well-known neighbor, Enos Mills, who championed the conservation movement.

In 1951, the Hewes-Kirkwood Inn became the home of the Rocky Ridge Music Center, founded by pianist Beth Miller Harrod, it operates today as one of the nation's premier music programs. Historic cabins house young musicians from around the country during the summer and the lodge hosts performances and social gatherings. The entire historic complex was maintained and rehabilitated over the years since it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Hop aboard a bus departing from the Estes Park Museum at 1:30 p.m. to take a personal tour of the campus with Madison Casey, former President, trustee and student of Rocky Ridge Music Center. Enjoy a faculty concert beginning at 3:00 p.m. Cost is $36 which covers transportation, a guided tour, and concert admission. Space is limited to 13 participants. Registration opens April 25 and is necessary to participate. Contact Alicia Mittelman, Curator of Education at 970-577-3762 or amittelman@estes.org.

Saturday

September 14

9 a.m.

"Now" Tour

TENTH ANNUAL HISTORIC TOUR

Return to the past and experience Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park just the way tourist visitors did nearly a century ago, in the two decades after the 1915 National Park dedication. Following an illustrated talk by Historian Laureate Jim Pickering, board “touring” buses and embark on a day of historic exploration, visiting six sites with stops at a dozen more.That is the “now” portion of this two-part event (See June 29 above). Since many of the sites are in Rocky Mountain National Park, the actual tour is being held after roadwork in the National Park is completed.

This tour is limited to 120 passengers. Participants will meet at the Museum at 9 a.m. for a slide show and informative talk by Pickering who will prepare participants for what they will see on the bus tour. The event includes refreshments, admission to Rocky Mountain National Park, transportation, a copy of the booklet "This Was Estes Park," and a catered box lunch. Ticket prices are $75 for non-Museum Friends members and $65 for members of the Museum Friends.