In the Center: The Denver Museum of Nature and Science

This final U.S.-based chapter of Part I returns to a more localized museum with some parallels to the Texas museums surveyed in Dallas and Houston. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is located within the capital city of the state of Colorado. Unlike Texas, Colorado is situated “in the center” of the U.S. both geographically and politically. In addition to limited human evolution content and to an excellent section on primate evolution within the museum’s expansive Prehistoric Journey exhibit, modern human content appears in Expedition Health, which features a human genetics research lab facilitating community-engaged science. However, Expedition Health does not place modern human biology within an evolutionary framework, which is a missed opportunity to connect our present with our past. This chapter emphasizes the importance of museum volunteers who provide critical free labor. Finally, a Side Trip to the Denver Zoo indicates the reinforcement of the “we-are-primates” message visitors to the zoo will gain.