Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
Science and local history share one floor, linking music, agriculture, water, wildlife, and invention through objects and hands-on experiments. Start with the local-history timeline, then use the science stations to test the environmental systems behind those community stories.
Artwork inspired by Chuck Forsman
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery is an all-ages, science, history and cultural museum established in 2008 through a public-private partnership between the City of Fort Collins' Fort Collins Museum and nonprofit Discovery Science Center. The museum, which opened in November 2012 and drew approximately one million visitors in its first decade, is located at 408 Mason Court, Fort Collins, CO 80524. Fort Collins Museum of Discovery archives house photographs, books, and other materials covering local history including those from the Johnson site in Larimer County, Colorado.
Start with the local-history timeline, then use the science stations to test the environmental systems behind those community stories. The Music & Sound Lab is not a children-only detour; its instruments and recording tools reveal a distinctive Fort Collins music archive.
- Focus
- Science + local history
- Collection
- Science and local history share one floor
- Allow
- 2–3 hours
Quick guide
- Regional history
- Regional history for context
- Try
- Music & Sound Lab
Quick guide
- Opening question
- Use the regional history exhibits before branching into water, wildlife, and technology.
- Regional history
- The Music & Sound Lab rewards adults as much as children.
- Evidence to test
- Trace how agriculture, water, scientific research, and community history overlap.
- Conditions check
- Planetarium-style programs and special activities follow separate schedules.
Good to know
Walk-up admission is available and advance purchase is optional. Screenshots of mobile tickets cannot be scanned. Digital Dome programs need separate tickets, and the Dome has three wheelchair spaces; the archive, rooftop deck, museum store, and café can be visited without general admission.
Notice these
- Music & Sound Lab
- Local-history collection
- Hands-on science