VOLUNTEERS NEEDED (ART/ENTERTAINMENT-RELATED)
Art museum | The Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver is hosting summer training for prospective volunteers. For information, contact Becky Wareing at 303-298-7554 or e-mail beckyw@mcartdenver.org.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED (SCIENCE/NATURE-RELATED)
Boulder Creek Watershed Initiative | BCWI needs volunteers to help with forums, to work on StreamTeams to protect local waterways, to write articles and take photographs, to help with general clerical duties and more. For information, visit or call 303-413-7365.
Trail/cabin work | Summit Huts needs volunteers the weekend Of July 6-8 to help prepare Janet’s Cabin for its inaugural summer season. Volunteers will hike or mountain bike into the hut from Copper Mountain, five and a half miles on the Colorado Trail. Volunteers may work one day or all three, and are welcome to spend the night at the hut. Breakfast and Lunch will be provided for those who spend the night. To sign up, visit, call 970-453-8583 or e-mail summithuts@colorado.net.
Raptor program | Rocky Mountain Raptor Program, based in Fort Collins, needs volunteers to work Saturdays and Sundays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. The hospital is full and construction delays have slowed the completion of the flight reconditioning building. Take a water bottle, sunscreen and a cordless drill if you have one. RMRP encourages preservation of our environmental and cultural resources through excellence in raptor rehabilitation, community education and research. For information, call 970-484-7756 or e-mail info@rmrp.org.
Boulder Green Building Guild | The Boulder Green Building Guild is seeking a volunteer coordinator and 18-20 volunteers to help with its upcoming BGBG Product Fair on July 8. For information, e-mail info@bgbg.org.
Xeriscape garden | Volunteers are needed at the Aurora Water Xeriscape Garden, 15151 E. Alameda Pkwy. For information, contact Abby Schreiber via e-mail at aschreib@ci.aurora.co.us or at 303-739-7356.
Anasazi Heritage Center | The Anasazi Heritage Center, (located three miles west of Dolores), needs volunteers to provide visitor information and to help maintain the museum’s grounds. Volunteers usually work one four-hour shift a week in the morning or afternoon. Benefits include attending field trips, special programs, events and workshops. For information, contact Victoria Atkins at 970-882-5610.
Trail guides | The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks needs trail guides to visit trailheads and hike trails on OSMP lands six-10 hours per month, providing visitors with information on area features, seasonal changes and local and natural history. Free classroom and field training is provided in four sessions. For information, visit or call 720-579-4161.
Trail work | The Colorado Trail Foundation needs volunteers to do trail work and other volunteer tasks. Trail work happens through August and work events are from a single day to a week-long. For information, visit
Trail work | Trails 2000 builds and maintains trails and educates trail users. Volunteers are needed to do trailwork. Trailwork dates for July are July 11, July 20-22 and Aug. 1. For details and weekly trailwork reminders, sign up for Trail 2000’s EList at
Morrison Museum | The Morrison Natural History Museum, 501 Colo. Highway 8, needs volunteers to teach about local fossils and rocks using hands-on exhibits and interactive demonstrations. Training and mentorship provided. Volunteers are also needed to assist with reptile collection care, fossil molding and casting, and information desk/gift shop operations. Call 303-697-1873 or visit
Park weeding and trail maintenance | Roxborough State Park, 4751 N. Roxborough Drive, Littleton, needs volunteers to work with trained crew leaders to pull, snip and collect noxious weeds and help maintain the hiking trails. For information, call 303-973-3959.
US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory Visitor Center | School field trip program guides and docents are needed to serve as hosts and conduct programs appropriate for school groups, youth and scouting organizations, senior citizen and civic groups at the US Department of Energy’s NREL Visitors Center, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden. For information, contact Ivilina Thornton at 303-384-6566 or e-mail ivilina_thornton@nrel.gov.
Air and Space museum | Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, 7711 E. Academy Blvd., needs volunteers to help with youth and adult education programs offered by the Museum’s Education Department. Volunteers conduct tours, assist with hands-on activities, teach in the flight simulator lab and conduct our Project Pilot course. Project Pilot is a team building course in which students learn the basics of flight planning and then fly a mission in the Museum’s Flight Simulator Lab. Wings offers progressive training for all of these volunteer positions. Aviation experience is a plus, but is NOT required. Contact the Education Department at 303-360-5360, ext. 106 or 116, or education@wingsmuseum.org for information.
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 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
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.
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 or call Kris Desmarais, 720-974-1868.
Wilderness environmental service programs | The Rocky Mountain Field Institute is a nonprofit organization based in Colorado Springs, dedicated to the preservation and restoration of wildlands and key natural areas. RMFI accomplishes its mission through environmental service, education and research. RMFI programs are developed around comprehensive, multi-year or long-term projects developed in concert with land management agencies to meet critical preservation and restoration goals. Multi-day projects are scheduled Aug. 19-25 in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness; Sept. 29-30 at Shelf Road; and Oct. 13-14 at Indian Creek, Utah. Regular workdays are scheduled in the fall at Garden of the Gods. Contact RMFI at 719-471-7736 or e-mail rmfibox@qwest.net for information.
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 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. For information, visit, or call 303-871-5172 for reservations.
ONGOING
“Eagle Watch” program | Larimer County Parks and Open Lands will be conducting an Eagle Watch program each weekend through this spring. Park rangers will lead a four-mile, round-trip hike through spring flowers and vast panoramas of Eagle’s Nest Open Space to the viewing location. With the aid of a telescope, you will be able to see eagles on the cliff face nest hundreds of feet above the North Fork of the Poudre River. Register by calling Park Manager Charles Gindler at 970-498-5606 or e-mail cgindler@larimer.org. After registering, you will be called or e-mailed with a date and time to meet at the Eagle’s Nest Open Space trailhead for a hike to the viewing site. For more information, visit
Guided flowerbed tours | Denver Parks and Recreation will host five guided flowerbed tours throughout the summer focused on perennials, annuals and new features at City Park. Park horticultural experts will guide the tours. Each tour is $15 for adults, $7 for seniors 60 and older and youth 17 and younger. Tour costs include transportation, refreshments and a small gift. Register for the tours by calling 720-913-0700.
Wildflower tours | The Denver Botanic Gardens is offering free wildflower tours on Mount Goliath Tuesdays and Thursdays, through Aug. 2, and Saturdays June 30, July 7 and July 28. The hike is a moderately difficult 1.5 mile downhill trek, and is from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and leaves from the US Forest Services Clear Creek Visitor Center in Idaho Springs. To register, call 720-865-3533.
Nature movies | Morrison Nature Center, 16002 E. Smith Road, offers a free nature movie, popcorn and hands-on projects at 2 p.m. the 3rd Sunday monthly. To register, call 303-739-2428.
Kids nature programs | Morrison Nature Center at Star K Ranch, 16002 E. Smith Road, Aurora, offers a free program for kids ages 5 and under every Thursday with puppets, stories, activities and outdoor exploration. The same topic is covered at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., choose which time works best for you. For information, call 303-739-2428.
Kids nature programs | Morrison Nature Center at Star K Ranch, 16002 E. Smith Road, Aurora, offers a free program for kids ages 6-10, “Junior Rangers,” which meets the second Thursday and Sunday of the month at 1:30 p.m. To register, call 303-739-2428.
Science open house | The Morrison Nature Center at Star K Ranch, 16002 E. Smith Road, offers a free open house with hands-on science activities from 1 to 4 p.m. on the third Sunday of the month. To register, call 303-739-2428.
Map and compass class | The US Geological Survey hosts a free map, compass and orienteering class at 1 p.m. the first and third Fridays monthly in the map department at the Denver Flagship REI, 1416 Platte St. For information, call 303-756-3100.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research | NCAR’s 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 303-497-1174or visit 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 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 or call 303-730-1022.
“Wet and Wild Wednesdays” kids nature program | Morrison Nature Center is offering a free plants and animals program for kids ages 6-10 the third Wednesday monthly. To register, call 303-739-2428. For information, visit
Kids nature program | Story time with a park ranger is at 10 a.m. Fridays through July 27 under the cottonwood tree at the Deer Creek Picnic Area in Chatfield State Park, 11500 N. Roxborough Park Road. Take a blanket or chair. A daily State Parks pass is required for all vehicles entering the park.
Kids nature program | “Beach Mania,” a program featuring games and crafts on a different theme each week, is offered at 1 p.m. Sundays at the swim beach in Chatfield State Park, 11500 N. Roxborough Park Road. Meet under the tent at the swim beach. A daily State Parks pass is required for all vehicles entering the park.
Kids nature program | Story time with a park ranger is at 10 a.m. Fridays through July 27 under the cottonwood tree at the Deer Creek Picnic Area in Chatfield State Park, 11500 N. Roxborough Park Road. Take a blanket or chair. For information, call 303-979-9115. A daily State Parks pass is required for all vehicles entering the park.
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. For information, call 970-586-3262 or visit
Nature programs | The Morrison Nature Center at Star K Ranch, 16002 E. Smith Road, Aurora, offers a variety of nature programs for children and adults. For a list of events, call 303-739-2428 or visit
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 colorado.edu/fiske/.
Nature programs and hikes | “Rox-Revealed,” a program featuring naturalist-led programs and hikes, is at 11 a.m. Saturdays at Roxborough State Park, 4751 N. Roxborough Drive. A $5 daily State Parks pass is required for all vehicles entering the park. For information, call 303-973-3959 or visit parks.state.co.us.
ART/ENTERTAINMENT-RELATED ANNOUNCEMENTS
Opera ushers | Central City Opera needs help locating its past Ushers for its 75th Birthday Celebration on July 16 in Central City. Contact Sara Knowles at 303-292-6500, ext. 117.
SCIENCE/NATURE-RELATED EVENTS
TODAY
Guided hike | Ranger Kim Shamburg will lead a “Riparian Hike” at 9 a.m. along the Platte River in Chatfield State Park, 11500 N. Roxborough Road. Take binoculars; meet at the Platte River parking lot. A daily State Parks pass is required for vehicles entering the park.
Tree rings program | Stephen Nash, curator of Anthropology and Archaeology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, will discuss the history of tree ring dating at 2 p.m. at the Anasazi Heritage Center, (located three miles west of Dolores). For information, call 970-882-5600 or visit co.blm.gov/ahc.
Family astronomy show | “Kids in Space,” an astronomy program, will be at 1 p.m. in the Fiske Planetarium on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. Cost is $5 adults, $3.50 children and seniors. For information, call 303-492-5001 or visit http://fiske.colorado.edu.
Zoo outreach program | “Wild in the City,” a free Denver Zoo outreach program with live “city” animals, will be at 7 p.m. at Bear Creek Park. Take West Kenyon Road to the Bear Creek Parking Lot. For information, call 720-913-0617 or search for “Natural Areas” at
WEDNESDAY
Astronomy program | “Space Primer,” a program about space, will be at 10 a.m. in the Fiske Planetarium on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. Cost is $5 adults, $3.50 children and seniors. For information, call 303-492-5001 or visit http://fiske.colorado.edu.
Astronomy talk | “Mysteries of the Colorado Night Sky,” a free program by Robert Stencel, Director of Mount Evans Observatory, will be at 3 p.m. at Echo Lake Lodge restaurant, at the junction of Colo. Highways 5 and 103. For directions and information, call 303-567-2138.
THURSDAY
Astronomy program | “Deep Impact,” an astronomy program, will be at 1 p.m. in the Fiske Planetarium on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. Cost is $5 adults, $3.50 children and seniors. For information, call 303-492-5001 or visit http://fiske.colorado.edu.
Live astronomer talk | “Colorado Skies: Space Shuttle 118 to ISS,” an astronomy program, will be at 8 p.m. in the Fiske Planetarium on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. Cost is $6 adults, free for students with valid ID, $3.50 children and seniors. For information, call 303-492-5001 or visit http://fiske.colorado.edu.
FRIDAY
Sunset stroll | Morrison Nature Center is offering an evening stroll at 8:15 p.m. at Aurora Reservoir, 5800 S. Powhaton Road. A $5 per vehicle entry fee is required. Visit
Astronomy program | “Mars Revealed,” a program about Mars, will be at 8 p.m. in the Fiske Planetarium on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. Cost is $6 adults, $5 for students (with valid ID), $3.50 children and seniors. For information, call 303-492-5001 or visit http://fiske.colorado.edu.
SATURDAY
Guided bird walk | Volunteer Naturalist Joey Kellner will lead a birdwatching excursion at 7 a.m. in Chatfield State Park, 11500 N. Roxborough Road. Dress for the weather; take water and binoculars. Meet at the Platte River parking lot. A daily State Parks pass is required for vehicles entering the park.
Petrified wood talk | Volunteer Pete Neri will discuss facts about petrified wood and show real samples at 8 p.m. at the amphitheater in Chatfield State Park, 11500 N. Roxborough Road. A daily State Parks pass is required for vehicles entering the park.
Guided osprey hike | “Osprey Watch,” a two-hour guided hike at Fossil Creek Reservoir Regional Open Space, north of Loveland, will be at 8:30 a.m. Wear comfortable clothes and take water and a camera. Meet in the plaza area at Fossil Creek Reservoir Regional Open Space. For information, contact Ann Dewey at 970-679-4561.
Guided bird walk | Park Naturalist Joey Kellner will lead a bird walk at 7 a.m. in Chatfield State Park, 11500 N. Roxborough Park Road. Meet at the Platte River Parking lot. Take binoculars and a field guide. A $6 daily State Parks pass is required for all vehicles entering the park. For information, call 303-791-7275.
Guided flowerbed tour | Denver Parks and Recreation is hosting a horticulturist-led tour at 9 a.m. focusing on perennial beds in downtown Denver. Gardens on the tour include: Sunken Gardens Park, Skyline Park, Centennial Gardens, Shoemaker Plaza, City and County Building and Confluence Park. Cost is $15 for adults, $7 for seniors 60 and older and youth 17 and younger. Tour cost includes transportation, refreshments and a small gift. Register for the tour by calling 720-913-0700.
Behind-the-scenes museum program | “Hidden Treasure of the Collections Tours; Geology Tour,” led by Paul Morgan, curator of geology and chair, Earth Sciences Department at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, will be at 2 p.m. at DMNS. The tour includes a sneak peak of recent acquisitions that are not yet on public display, such as a lightning strike frozen in sand. For ages 12 and up; tickets are $20 member, $25 nonmember. Call 303-322-7009, 800-925-2250 or visit
July 1
Wildflower hike | Certified Native Plant Master Pam Little will lead a summer wildflower hike at 9 a.m. in Chatfield State Park, 11500 N. Roxborough Road. Dress for the weather and take water. Meet at the Platte River parking lot. A daily State Parks pass is required for vehicles entering the park.
Nature hike | Volunteer Naturalist Josette Mastra will lead a hike and discuss wildflowers, trees and shrubs, and how to identify these plants. Meet at 11:30 a.m. at the information kiosk near the Canyon Point Parking Lot in Castlewood Canyon State Park, 2989 S. Highway 83, Franktown. To register, call 303-688-5242. A $5 daily State Parks pass is required for all vehicles entering the park.
To publicize upcoming events geared toward and open to the public, please mail details at least two weeks in advance to Andrea Labak, Scientifically Speaking, The Denver Post, City Desk, 101 W. Colfax Ave., Suite 600, Denver, CO 80202, or e-mail to Scispeak@denverpost.com.
