I was lucky enough to get a sneak peak visit to the new Fort Collins Museum of Discovery this week and was blown away with how cool that place is! There is not a person alive (adult or child) that wouldn't find something interesting in there.

The grand opening is happening tomorrow (Saturday November 10th, 2012). Read on to see some pictures of what's inside and hours and admission info.

bear
Beano, TSM
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Fort Collins Museum of Discovery is located at 408 Mason Court (Mason &  Cherry) and opens to the public for the first time on Saturday.  There is a special grand opening ceremony at 9:30 a.m. with the Fort Collins Mayor and other dignitaries, the Museum will open at 10 a.m.

I'm pretty sure I could have spent hours playing in the museum. Part of what makes it so cool is that almost everything is interactive. You can jam in the band rooms and record music with your friends, play a theramin, feel tornado-force winds, grow trees in the Funky Forest...I could go on, but believe me, this is something you'll want to experience.

bison
Beano, TSM
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The museum features six exhibit zones which include: The Music & Sound Lab (Which reminds me of a lot of the cool stuff I saw at the EMP Museum in Seattle), Wildlands & Wildlife; People on the Move; First Peoples; Food, Forage and Farm; and the Schatz Family Exploration Zone. Be sure to stop by and the the resident, endangered black-footed ferrets on your way in.

FCMD is also home to one of the most technologically advanced dome theaters in the country, the OtterBox Digital Dome Theater (Imagine a planetarium that can do a LOT more than just show you stars).

Tornado
Todd Harding, TSM
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On top of that there is a Natural Areas Visitors Center, a rooftop observation deck (with a gorgeous view over Old Town, a gift shop, a piano bar and The Archive (Which is free and full of almost any pictures or info you could ever want from Fort Collins' past).

Fort Collins Museum of Discovery  will be open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission prices are $9.50 for adults, $7.50 for seniors, $7.00 for students (with valid ID), $6 for children ages 3 – 12. Children 2 & under are Free. and a plethora of membership options are also available.

They even have classrooms set up in the building for workshops and field trips, and in my humble opinion, any school that doesn't plan a field trip or two to this place is doing a great disservice to your children.

Adult-me really liked this place...school-aged me would have been head-over-heels in love with it.

Check out some of these pictures taken by Todd Harding.

 

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