How times have changed!  When the Museum first opened its doors to the public in 1908, William Taft was elected president, the world’s first major commercial oil field was discovered in Iran, and for the first time ever the ball dropped in Time Square to herald the New Year.   Ford Motor Company produced the first Model T, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series, and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” was America’s favorite song.  In Tunguska, Russia, 80 million trees over 830 square miles were flattened when a meteoroid hit the atmosphere, the largest impact event in recent Earth history.  Denver was host to the Democratic National Convention, where women participated as delegates for the first time and Mayor Speer built an elaborate fountain, complete with lights, in City Park.  At the same time, ranchers drove their cattle to market along the dirt road called Colorado Boulevard.

This was the Denver, and indeed the world, to which the Colorado Museum of Natural History opened its brand new doors.  Inspired by Edwin Carter, naturalist and pioneer, and his extensive Rocky Mountain bird and mammal collection, the building was opened to the public on July 1, 1908.  “As Denver is destined to be among the great Cities of the Continent, so will a museum here founded… grow up to be one of the great entertaining and educational institutions of the country.”  Visitors – ladies in butterfly jackets and feathered hats and gentlemen in high collars and bowlers – arrived at the Museum to enjoy the sights of Edwin Carter’s animals, art collections donated by prominent Colorado citizens including Margaret “Molly” Brown, and, shortly thereafter, John T. Mason’s butterflies and John F. Campion’s crystalline gold.

What would it be like to speak with those early visitors? What would they say about the Museum, indeed the world, of today?  How has technology changed, and what has history shown to be enduring?  We decided to bring these ideas to life.  Now, as you round the corner of diorama halls, you may just see our 1908 “visitors” standing in wonderment at suddenly finding themselves in the modern world, and pondering, in conversation with visitors, how everything from taxidermy methods and conservation techniques to scientific advances and politics have changed over time.  Perhaps as you enter Botswana Hall, you’ll see the silhouetted outline of “Miss Florence Epp”, whose large pack is filled with the trappings of her travels through Africa – a horsehair fly whisk, a Masai blanket, an African doll.  Will you learn to play Achi with her?  Perhaps the marmots and coyotes of Explore Colorado are more your style  If so, you may see “Miss Margaret Winters,” a naturalist of 1908 whose demure style and turn-of-the-century dress belie a forward-thinking woman of her time, pressing for women’s votes and eagerly studying the natural world like so many of those early conservation-minded “club women.”  Or maybe you’ll overhear the leisurely Old West accent of Leadville newspaper reporter “Mr. A. J. Rappaport”, who feels that the new Museum is a “fine institution,” and is hoping to track down the founding curators to get a quote, “for posterity.”  A. J. is particularly delightful to those who remember visiting the Museum as a child and love to muse over how it has changed – he carries photos of the original Museum and can point out the hidden secrets left over from the original architecture.

These 1908 “visitors” are quite at ease in the Museum 100 years beyond their time; perhaps it is no great surprise, therefore, that they would explore the world of the internet blog.  A new adventure, Miss Epp?  Another voice for women in science, Miss Winters?  The ultimate reporter’s scoop, Mr. Rappaport?  Read on…