Telluride Historical Museum: Now Open for Summer! Free Event, 6/9!

02 Jun Telluride Historical Museum: Now Open for Summer! Free Event, 6/9!

The following is a note from the Telluride Historical Museum family. Summer hours are 11am-5pm Monday through Saturday (Closed Sundays). Open until 7pm on Thursdays. Locals visit FREE on Thursdays. For more, call 970-728-3344.

Go here for more from the Telluride Museum.

“What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade.” — Gertrude Jekyll, Horticulturalist.

It’s finally here! We are open for summer starting Thursday, June 2,  at 11am, and boy are we excited! We will be open Monday- Saturday from 11am-5pm, with extended hours (closing at 7pm) on Thursdays for our LOCALS FREE ADMISSION DAY.

Our months of planning and preparing for the familiar, unique, and new programming that we have in store for you is sure to make for a summer filled with fun! To start, don’t miss our first event of the summer: the opening reception for our brand-new exhibit, “The Long Run: 50 Years of the Telluride Ski Area.” That takes place Thursday, June 9, 6pm.

This ’70s-themed evening will feature fabulous folks, delicious appetizers, drinks, and most importantly – some utterly fascinating history! We hope you will don your best 70s threads (to help get the mood just right) and join us for this free event one week from today!

And that is just the tip of the programming iceberg.

Our typically full summer slate will include some familiar favorites such as our walking tours, hikes, the reopening of our gold panning activity, and the return of 4th of July root beer floats at the Museum, but we’re also planning to unveil a few new endeavors as the we move further into the season. Plenty more info to come so keep an eye on our social media feeds, website, and upcoming newsletters!

Wishing you a fabulous summer season wherever you are and we hope to see you soon!

Sincerely,

Your Museum Family

Happenings:

Annual Exhibit Opening Reception!

Join us on Thursday, June 9, 6pm as we unveil our 2022-2023 exhibit, “The Long Run: 50 Years of the Telluride Ski Area!” This ’70s-themed evening will feature light appetizers, delicious drinks, and a whole host of friendly faces. We hope you will join us!

Know that 1970s attire is encouraged.

This event is free of charge and open to all.

Walking Tours with Ashley Boling

Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1pm
All Summer Long!
-Beginning on June 7th-

Hear the tales and see the sights on this lively tour about town. Join longtime local, performer, and community historian, Ashley Boling, as he recounts the people and events that make Telluride’s history unique.

Ashley has been giving engaging historical walking tours of Telluride for more than 20 years. His innate enthusiasm for history and natural gift for storytelling will have you entertained for the complete hour and fifteen minute tour of town. Learn about some of Telluride’s most notable citizens and famous stories and see where Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank!

$10 for Members
$15 Non-Members

Sluice Re-Opens for the Summer on June 15th!

A favorite activity for the young explorers of Telluride, our Sluicing Station in the east courtyard of the museum will reopen on June 15. This hands-on way of exploring the mining history of the town is sure to be a fun way to keep busy and cool off during our hot summer days. And best of all, the treasures the sluicers find while panning are theirs to keep!

$6 (plus tax) per bucket of mining rough.

Staff News:

Mary Higgins

This month’s Meet the Museum Staff features our Director of Public Engagement, Mary Higgins. As the newest member of the Museum team, she has been working hard to learn as much as she can about our rich history and to meet all of our wonderful community members!

How long have you been with the Telluride Historical Museum?

I began working with the Telluride Historical Museum in the Summer of 2021. If I remember correctly, I think one of my very first full days with the museum was the 4th of July. Getting to hang out with the rest of the staff while slinging root beer floats was a memorable kick-off to the summer!

What excites you about history, and our local history in particular?

Learning about the lives of the people (and animals!) who have lived in our canyon has been my favorite thing. I am a lover of stories and story-telling, particularly in learning about the power of the lessons carried on by those who have come before us. Telluride’s history is one of resilience and ingenuity, accompanied with a lot of silly absurdity along the way.

Who is your favorite Telluride historical figure and why?

My favorite Telluride historical figures are probably the group known as The Flying Epoxy Sisters. While they don’t necessarily carry the same prestige and documentation that many of our other historical figures do, there’s a picture of them hanging over a co-workers desk that is right around where I tend to zone out while I’m thinking. They’re just a great reminder to not take yourself too seriously, and to enjoy life while you’re in it!

What has been your favorite museum memory?

My favorite museum memory so far has to be our Night of the Telluride Undead event. Not only was there an electrical buzz in the air for the excitement of it, but we were delighted to be able to pull off a successful Halloween thrill in the face of going back into our second wave of dealing with COVID (which made indoor events like the previous Haunted Museum impossible). While I have several memories of the evening, my two favorite were watching the 12 and under kid group play Donuts-On-A-String, and seeing the haunting figure of Left Lucy accepting the flowers from the groups who played our game.

If you could only take one meal and one drink with you to a desert island for the rest of your days, what would you take?

If I could only take one meal and a drink with me to a desert island the rest of my days, it would probably have to be (at least at this moment) the Vegetarian Pad-See-Ew from Siam at a Level 5 Thai Spice, and the best mojito I ever had from some restaurant in Sedona.