About

The Museums of Western Colorado is the largest multi-disciplinary museum between Salt Lake City and Denver. Over the past fifty years we have grown to include three major museum facilities –   Cross Orchards Historic Site, Dinosaur Journey Museum, and the Museum of the West; and four active outdoor paleontology sites. We offer a multitude of programs featuring dinosaur expeditions, extensive educational programming, and historic and cultural trips and tours, ranging from local to international. Annually over 117,000 visitors participate in our programs and enjoy the facilities. This number includes approximately 17,000 western slope K-12 students who experience high-quality site tours, programs and outreach activities.

Photo of the National Register-listed barn at Cross Orchards

Accredited

In 1971, we became the 28th museum in the nation to be accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM), now known as the American Alliance of Museums. Periodic re-evaluation by AAM is required to maintain the prestigious designation, and regularly scheduled evaluations in 1982 and 1996 determined that the museum continually met or exceeded the highest professional standards and expectations. In August 2009, we were awarded our 4th accreditation, which places us in the top 1% of museums in the country.