On the first floor of the museum, visitors can explore the Gems and Minerals gallery and learn about the universe in the Space Odyssey. The T-Rex Café and Deli are available for a variety of snacks and sandwiches.
On the second floor, visitors can explore the hands-on health exhibits of the Hall of Life and Edge of the Wild. The natural world is on display in the halls of North American Wildlife, South Pacific Islands, Australia, and Bears and Sea Mammals. The hall of North American Indian Cultures introduces visitors to Native American cultures.
The third floor contains my favorite exhibits. The Phipps Special Exhibits Gallery is currently exhibiting "The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt," and there is an informative permanent exhibit about Egyptian Mummies. Tucked into a small nook is the gem carvings of Russian artist Vasily Konovalenko. Visitors can learn more about the natural world in the halls of Birds of the Americas, Explore Colorado, Northern and Rare Birds, South America, and Botswana, Africa.
My favorite hall is Prehistoric Journey, which is full of dinosaurs and other extinct animals. Visitors will want to pick up a Trail Guide on the way in, so they can learn more about the animals and environments depicted. Prehistoric Journey begins with the origins of the Earth and early life in the Precambrian Era. The trail progresses to the Paleozoic Era and exhibits about the diversity of life in the oceans, how animals first left the water, and the development of flight. Next is the Mesozoic Era, the Time of the Dinosaurs, and many interesting skeletons of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine reptiles. The last part of the trail is the Cenozoic Era, which takes visitors through a time when Colorado and Wyoming were covered with vast tropical rain forests and mammals were diversifying and expanding into ecological niches previously occupied by the dinosaurs. As the Cenozoic Era progressed, the grasslands expanded and herbivorous mammals diversified even further. Before leaving the Prehistoric Journey trail, visitors can see Ice Age mammals and the Fossil Preparation Laboratory.
Members of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science receive free admission to the museum invitations to members-only events, and a subscription to the Museum Magazine. Members also receive discounts on IMAX Theater and Planetarium tickets, discounts on museum classes and lectures, and discounts at the gift shop and T-Rex café.
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