Museum of Western Colorado
462 Ute Ave
Grand Junction, Colorado 81501
Winter Hours
October 1 – April 30
Monday – Saturday: 10AM-4PM
Summer Hours May 1 – September 30
Monday – Saturday: 9AM 5PM
Sunday: Noon-4PM
Admission
General: $7
Senior: $6
Children (3 -12): $4
Family (up to 6): $20.00 Members: Free
The Museums of Western Colorado are a collection of museums covering history, farming, paleontology, and most importantly, mining in Colorado. The Museum of the West displays the core collection. Along with a stage coach and a replica boomtown bar, the museum sports a replica mine and mining artifacts.
Origins of the Museums of Western Colorado
The Museum traces its origins through many incarnations and names. The first vestiges of the museum can be traced to 1949 and an early building efforts by the Memorial Museum Association. In 1952, it is reorganizes as the Western Slope Museum Association, which assembles much of the museum’s core collection. Despite the association’s efforts, there is no physical museum until 1965 with the incorporation of the Museum of Arts and Sciences. In 1977 name changes to the Museum of Western Colorado.
Since the name change, the museum has branched out onto additional campuses with varied foci. Yet, the core collection remains with the Museum of the West, focusing on the last 1,000 years of Colorado history from the Ancestral Pueblo to a 1958 Cessna. Over 100,000 visitors encounter the Museums of Western Colorado each year.
