Education at the Telluride Historical Museum

Educational Impact Statement 
As an essential community partner in education, the Telluride Historical Museum welcomes local and regional schools to explore Telluride’s rich historical and geological past, and to discover our connections to Colorado and our nation’s history.

The Museum’s programs support Colorado’s academic and curriculum standards and focus on the multidisciplinary approach to understanding and appreciating Colorado’s rich geological and historical past. The interactive learning environment at the museum offers school children of any age the ability to develop problem solving, listening, team building, and research skills. Students and teachers encounter authentic objects from the region, engendering excitement for, and a unique experience of, our history.

What we offer:

We offer a variety of school programs which are facilitated by museum staff. We are happy to work with teachers to assure the program meets teacher’s curriculum needs or create a specific program for you! Some of our most popular programs include:

• Immigration and Migration: Telluride’s story
  • For 1st-3rd grade using character immersion to evaluate push and pull factors
• Historic Hospital tour with exhibit themed scavenger hunt; 1st-4th grade
• Western Work: Colorado Industries of the Past- 1st-5th grade (via History Colorado)
  • Through objects, photographs and role-playing activities, students will become “entrepreneurs” in some of Colorado’s most important industries. Western Work meets economic, history and geography standards and encourages students to explore natural, capital and human resources through a historical lens. Pre-visit material will prepare students for this journey, while post-visit material will synthesize and expand their knowledge.
• Ute Knowledge: Colorado’s Original Scientists- 1st-5th grade (via History Colorado)
  • Students investigate how the Ute Indians used science, technology, engineering and math to survive and thrive in the Rocky Mountains. By testing materials, they’ll see how Ute people solved problems in the past and still do today. The program meets history, math and science standards.
• Moving Day: Colorado’s Migration Story- 1st-5th grade (via History Colorado)
  • Students will explore the movement of people across Colorado from prehistory to 1870. By examining community groups, like the Ancestral Puebloans, Mountain Men, Miners, Utes, Plains Indians and Hispanos, students will discover how each group has contributed and influenced life today in Colorado. Pre-visit material will prepare students for this journey, while post-visit material will synthesize and expand their knowledge.

If you are interested in a program that is not listed above, please reach out! We also offer a Bus Scholarship for classes or schools who need assistance in transportation to and from the museum. We offer a limited amount of these scholarships, and they are available for schools in the San Miguel, San Juan, Ouray, Montrose, Delta, Dolores, La Plata, or Montezuma Counties School District (includes charter schools). For more information please reach out, or visit the Bus Scholarship page.