Robert Gay, Curator of Museum Education
Taylor Barnett, Cross Orchards Site Manager
The Museums of Western Colorado has a long history of providing hands-on educational opportunities to the youth of the Grand Valley. These have ranged from single-day camps at Cross Orchards to week-length experiences around the Grand Valley and the region. This summer the Museums of Western Colorado is proud to announce that we are expanding our offerings going into summer 2017.
This year we will be having short and week-long children’s camps at Cross Orchards. Aimed at elementary and middle school students, these classes will be held in June and July. The elementary classes will focus on archaeology and the history of the Grand Valley. These classes are still being finalized; for more information please contact Taylor Barnett, Cross Orchards’ site manager, at tbarnett@westcomuseum.org for the updates.
This summer the Museum is also proud to announce two paleontology classes aimed at high school students. The first class will be held June 5-18. This field camp is held in Bears Ears National Monument thanks to funding from Canyonlands Natural History Association. This rigorous outdoor education program takes students from across the Western Slope and the country to southeastern Utah, where an active investigation has been ongoing with Curator of Education Rob Gay and high school students from across the country. Applications are available on our website or by emailing robertg@westcomuseum.org. Space is limited.
The second camp will take place right here in western Colorado and is open to all high school students. Join paleontologist and Curator of Education Rob Gay to the Gateway area, where numerous remains of ancient beasts dating to the Triassic Period were discovered in the 1970s. Professional scientists have not investigated the region since that time. We will begin on June 21 with instruction at the Museums of Western Colorado’s Dinosaur Journey and then head down into the field for several days of camping and exploring for new fossil sites. Space is limited but no special application is required. Contact the Grand Junction Department of Parks and Recreation to sign up at 970-254-3866 or register online here starting March 15.
Looking forward to next year we are hoping to be able to expand our high school programs to include archaeology camps at Cross. We will also be bringing back more of our popular spring break/intersession camps in the 2017-2018 school year, along with additional new camps. The future is bright for the MWC Education Department!