VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Air and Space museum|Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, 7711 E. Academy Blvd., needs volunteers to help at the admissions desk, museum store, and in the museum’s collection of artifacts. The museum’s hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 5 on Sundays. For information, call Matthew Burchette at 303-360-5360, ext. 103.
Zoo|The Denver Zoo, 2300 Steele St., needs volunteers to assist with special events, to assist zookeepers and to work in the zoo’s membership, education and administration departments. For information, visit www.denverzoo.org or call 303-376-4894.
Dinosaur Ridge|Volunteer tour guides are needed to teach people about the paleontological, geological, natural resources and history of Dinosaur Ridge. Applicants must be at least 18 and must complete required training. For information, call 303-697-3466 or visit www.dinoridge.org.
Science Museum|The Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd., needs volunteers to work with visitors in the Museum’s diorama halls, galleries and activity areas. Also needed are volunteers to be guides, interpreters, collections assistants and classroom prep assistants. Call the Volunteer Services office for information, 303-370-6419.
Nature Center|Bluff Lake Nature Center, East 30th Avenue and Moline Street, needs volunteer naturalists to work with kids, using games, science experiments and hands-on activities to teach them about nature. No experience is required. For information, call Sue Schafer at 303-468-3245.
Rocky Mountain Field Institute|Volunteers are for service programs in November at Garden of the Gods. Register at least two weeks ahead by calling 719-471-7736 or e-mail rmfibox@qwest.net.
Conservation Center|The Plains Conservation Center, 21901 E. Hampden Ave., Aurora, needs volunteer “citizen scientists” to work with PCC naturalists gathering, compiling and mapping information about prairie residents. Survey work will take place on the first Saturday of each month. Training is provided. To register, e-mail Fran Blanchard at fblanchard@plainscenter.org or call 303-693-3621.
Butterfly Pavilion|The Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster, needs volunteers to work with visitors and to help in its tropical butterfly conservatory, tide pool, touch cart, and garden areas. For information, visit www.butterflies.org or call Kris Desmarais, 720-974-1868.
TWICE WEEKLY
Telescope viewing|Chamberlin Observatory, 2930 E. Warren Ave., on the University of Denver campus, has astronomy presentations and allows use of the 20-inch Alvan Clark refractor telescope beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. For information, visit www.thedas.org, or call 303-871-5172 for reservations.
ONGOING
Science and engineering fair|The Denver Metro Regional Science and Engineering Fair will be Feb. 28 2006 at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd. For information, e-mail james.stevens@uchsc.edu or call 303-724-3003. Teachers interested in staging a science fair at their school can visit the Central Colorado AHEC website at www2.uchsc.edu/ahec/science/.
Map and compass class|The US Geological Survey hosts a free map, compass and orienteering class at 1 p.m. Fridays in the map department at the Denver Flagship REI, 1416 Platte St. For information, call 303-756-3100.
Mesa Laboratory|The Mesa Lab, a working research laboratory at the west end of Table Mesa Drive in Boulder, has a free visitor center that is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends. The visitor center has a climate exhibit, an eclipse telescope, working supercomputers, a gravity well, and hands on demonstrations of lightning, tornados and fluid dynamics. For information, call 303-497-1174 or visit www.ucar.edu.
Renewable energy|The US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory Visitors Center, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Visitors Center features an interactive exhibit hall and DOE public reading room. For information, visit www.nrel.gov/visitors_center/ or call 303-384-6565.
Children’s workshops|The Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd., has many children’s workshops and events for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. For a list, call the Children’s Workshop coordinators at 303-370-8225 or 303-370-8347.
Nature activities|South Suburban Parks and Recreation naturalists lead many outdoor, nature and environmentally related activities and events at Carson Nature Center, 3000 W. Carson Drive, Littleton. For a list of events, visit www.sspr.org or call 303-730-1022.
Wildlife refuge programs|The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, East 56th Avenue at Havana Street, is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. There are various exhibits at the Visitor Center, and free nature programs and refuge tours. Call 303-289-0930 for times and reservations, or visit http://rockymountainarsenal.fws.gov.
Natural history seminars|The Rocky Mountain Nature Association offers a series of outdoor seminars on natural history topics in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado State Parks and other locations. For information, call 800-748-7002 or visit www.rmna.org.
Nature programs|The Morrison Nature Center at Star K Ranch, 16002 E. Smith Road, Aurora, offers a variety of nature programs. For a list of events, call 303-739-2428 or visit www.auroragov.org.
Astronomy events|Fiske Planetarium, on the University of Colorado Boulder campus, has a variety of astronomy shows, talks, and family matinees. The evening talks and shows are $6 adults, $5 students with valid I.D., and $3.50 for children and seniors. Saturday family shows are $5 adults, $3.50 children and seniors. Laser shows are $5. For more information, call 303-492-5002 or visit www.colorado.edu/fiske/.
TODAY
Denver Zoo free day|Admission to the Denver Zoo, 2300 Steele St., will be free from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for Colorado residents with proof of residency. For information, visit www.denverzoo.org or call 303-376-4800.
Mountain lion program|”Living with Mountain Lions,” a program, is available on a drop-in basis from 1 to 4 p.m. at Matthews/Winters Park, just south of I-70 at the Morrison Exit. For information, call 303-526-0594.
TUESDAY
Grizzly bear program|The Sierra Club Rachel Carson Group is sponsoring a free presentation by Jorge Andromidas, an advocate for the reintroduction of the grizzly bear to suitable habitat in the San Juan Ecosystem of Southwestern Colorado and Northern New Mexico, at 7 p.m. at the City of Arvada Administration Building, 8101 W. Ralston Road. For information, call 303-861-8819 or e-mail judy.Johnson@rmc.sierraclub.org or visit www.rmc.sierraclub.org/rcg.
Plant fossil talk|”Using Fossil Lakes to Study Eocene Uplands and Lowlands: A Comparison of the Green River and Republic Floras,” a free talk by Kirk Johnson, chief curator and chair of the department of earth sciences at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science will be at 7 p.m. in DMNS’s Ricketson Auditorium, 2001 Colorado Blvd. For information, visit www.wipsppc.com or call 303-663-5868.
Natural Hazards Center anniversary event|Kathleen Tierney, professor of sociology and director of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center, will give a free talk, “CU Boulder’s Natural Hazards Center: Thirty Years of Knowledge Transfer and Social Science Inquiry,” at noon in the Changing Gallery of the CU Museum of Natural History on the CU Boulder campus. For information, visit http://cumuseum.colorado.edu/. or call 303-492-6892.
WEDNESDAY
“Dialogues in Anthropology” talk|”Digitizing the Past,” a talk by Kelly Goelz of the University of Denver, will be at 5 p.m. in Sturm Hall room 451 on the DU campus.
Winter weather seminar|The 7News second annual “Winter Weather Seminar” with Chief Meteorologist Mike Nelson will be from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Omni Interlocken Resort, 800 Eldora Blvd., Broomfield. To register for this free event, e-mail to chris_spears@kmgh.com.
THURSDAY
Pluto talk|”New Horizons Mission to Pluto,” a talk by John Spencer of Southwest Research Institute, will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Fiske Planetarium on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. The talk will be repeated at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18. Cost is $6 adults, $5 students with valid I.D., $3.50 children and seniors. For information, call 303-492-5002 or visit www.colorado.edu/fiske.
SATURDAY
Weather program|”Colorado’s Wild Weather,” a presentation by Ellis Burton, retired chief meteorologist from the National Weather Bureau, will be at 9 a.m. at the Plains Conservation Center, 21901 E. Hampden Ave., Aurora. Cost is free for members, $5 nonmembers. To register, call 303-693-3621.
Mountain lion program|”Living with Mountain Lions,” a program, is available on a drop-in basis from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mount Falcon Park West. Take the Indian Hills turn-off from US 285. Follow Parmalee Gulch Road for 5 miles to Picutis Road, the follow the signs to the parking area. For information, call 303-526-0594.
To publicize upcoming events geared toward and open to the public, please mail complete details at least two weeks in advance to Scientifically Speaking, The Denver Post, City Desk, 1560 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202, or e-mail to Scispeak@denverpost.com.
