2026 marks the 250th birthday of the United States and the 150th birthday of the state of Colorado. In recognition of these anniversaries Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, in partnership with a number of community organizations, is planning on presenting a Year of Conversations.
The Year of Conversations is designed to create spaces of community building, share civic tools to incorporate into our own lives, and explore our shared history while preserving, protecting and building our democracy and community together.
Please join us in these conversations and plan on attending as many programs as possible. Our calendar will be filling up as the year goes on so please check back frequently to see the latest opportunities to be a part of the 250/150 conversation.
Calendar of events:
Civic Saturday
April 11th, 1:00-3:00pm
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
We need ways to build trust, restore civic faith, and move through the challenges of feeling disappointed, scared, angry, checked out, or even hopeless and powerless to impact our communities or society. Many people lack places to connect and reflect on the opportunities, challenges, and responsibilities we need to embrace in public life.
Civic Saturdays, which originated in Seattle in 2016, are an antidote that sparks inspiration, relationship-building, and meaning-making. Civic Saturdays have been hosted across the U.S. in local libraries, parks, museums, and more. They give folks a space to build community with no strings attached; come as you are, get to know your neighbors, and think through how we can build civic character together.
Whether a civic starting point, a refueling station, a spot for sense-making or celebration, Civic Saturdays help break down a sense of separateness and connect our hearts, inviting us to consider what it truly means to “live like a citizen” — and to commit to doing so, together.
Please join us for Fort Collins’ first in-person Civic Saturday. We’ll have live music from Veronica May, poetry from local community members, and opportunities to connect with your neighbors! We hope to see you there!
Register Here
Courtyard Open House
April 18 11:00-1:00
Heritage Courtyard at the Center for Creativity at the Historic Carnegie Library, 200 Mathews Street, Fort Collins, Colorado
This spring, we are highlighting the 1905 Upper Boxelder Creek Schoolhouse with an interactive open house for all ages.
- Play: Try your hand at traditional 1900s games.
- Learn: Explore the architecture and stories of our one-room school.
- Create: Participate in schoolhouse-themed activities and crafts.
Free and open to the public – no tickets necessary, just drop in!
Speaking up for Cleaner Air
Tuesday May 5th, 6:00PM-8:00PM
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
Come listen to your neighbors share their stories of fighting for cleaner air in our community. Through personal stories and shared experiences, we’ll explore what it means to stand up for what we believe — and how to pass those lessons on to our kids.
Ven a escuchar a tus vecinos compartir sus historias sobre la lucha por un aire más limpio en nuestra comunidad. A través de experiencias personales y viviencias compartidas, exploraremos lo que significa defender nuestras convicciones, y cómo transmitir esas lecciones a nuestros hijos.
Register Here
faith 250: What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
Tuesday May 12th, 6:00-8:00pm
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
Frederick Douglass addressed Independence Day in 1852, in the midst of slavery. To Douglas, our national rituals that are untrue to their intended meaning corrode the country’s shared identity, yet instead of turning away from America, he sets the pattern of demanding that America live up to is purpose.
Register Here
Brick by Brick Historic Preservation, the Bicentennial Commission & Civic Action
May 21st, 6:00-8:00pm
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery (dome)
This year is the nation’s 250th anniversary, and Colorado’s 150th. Join staff from the Museum of Discovery and the City Historic Preservation office to explore how the Fort Collins community came together to celebrate the bicentennial in 1976, and how it created important momentum for the work of historic preservation in our city.
We’ll learn how community leaders from across the city worked together to celebrate together and save some important reflections of Fort Collins’ identity, and about their foundational efforts to build what we’ve come to know as Fort Collins today.
Bring your learning hat and your sense of civic pride as we explore stories from Fort Collins past that reflect the important civic values of shared responsibility, memory, stewardship, and active citizenship of Fort Collins past, present, and future.
This program is Pay What You Can, Tickets are required due to limited capacity.
Register Here
Courtyard Open House
May 30th, 11:00am-1:00pm
Heritage Courtyard at the Center for Creativity at the Historic Carnegie Library, 200 Mathews Street, Fort Collins, Colorado
Join us at the Heritage Courtyard this May for a special interactive open house celebrating Historic Preservation Month. We’ll explore the four historic structures and learn the “behind-the-scenes” stories of their survival. Discover how and why these important buildings were physically uprooted, transported, and restored.
Free and open to the public – no tickets necessary, just drop in!
faith 250: The New Colossus
Tuesday June 9th, 6:00-8:00pm
CSU Campus
Emma Lazarus was asked to write a poem for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty celebrating the triumph of liberty in the Civil War. She subverted that purpose with 14 lines of text that turned one of the nation’s most recognized monuments into a symbol of welcome.
Register Here
Without Apology: Black History and Civil Rights in Fort Collins – A Walking Tour and Archive Open House
Friday June 12, 2026
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, 408 Mason Court, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80524
Join staff from the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery and the City of Fort Collins Historic Preservation office to explore stories of Black/African American history in Fort Collins, and Black residents who fought for civil rights in their lifetimes. We’ll begin by touring through the neighborhood around Washington Park to visit a few sites where important Black residents lived in the city, and then visit the Local History Archive at the Museum for an open house featuring resources our community has saved to help keep these stories alive.
Please wear comfortable shoes and sunscreen. The group will meet in the main lobby of the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery at 408 Mason Court in Fort Collins. This event is free but capped at 30 people, so please register for tickets. We will provide an indoor “virtual walking tour” experience if needed due to inclement weather.
Register Here
Courtyard Open House
June 20th, 11:00am-1:00pm
Heritage Courtyard at the Center for Creativity at the Historic Carnegie Library, 200 Mathews Street, Fort Collins, Colorado
Join us at the Heritage Courtyard this June for an interactive open house where we’ll discover the trees and flowers that make their home in the courtyard! We’ll also learn more about the ponderosa pines that were used to construct some of the historic cabins. Finally, we’ll use natural inspiration to create paper flowers and botanical art to take home.
Free and open to the public – no tickets necessary, just drop in!
Previous Events:
Without Apology: Black History & Civil Rights in Fort Collins
Friday, February 20th, 2:00–4:00pm
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
Join staff from the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery and the City of Fort Collins Historic Preservation Office for an afternoon exploring Black/African American history in Fort Collins.
This guided walking tour begins in the Washington Park neighborhood, highlighting sites where influential Black residents lived, followed by an open house at the Local History Archive. Together, we’ll explore the stories, records, and community-held resources that help keep these histories alive.
Human Library
February 22nd, 2:00-5:00pm
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
Unjudge someone—Join us for the Human Library where human “books” have conversations with human “readers” and share their personal story and their experience living in Fort Collins.
faith 250: The Declaration of Independence
Thursday, March 5th, 6:00-8:00pm
First Presbyterian Church
No words capture the American imagination as powerfully as Jefferson’s assertions in the opening paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration simultaneously asks us to explore who we intend to be and the resistance to achieving those aims.
Women’s Suffrage Walking and Archive Tour
Friday, March 27th, 2:00-4:00pm
Center for Creativity – 200 Mathews Street, Fort Collins
Join Fort Collins Museum of Discovery and the City Historic Preservation teams to explore stories of Women’s History in Fort Collins, and women who influenced the city in their lifetimes. In celebration of Women’s History Month, we’ll be touring through the neighborhood around Library Park to visit a few sites where women who helped shape our community lived and worked.
We’ll then venture inside the Center for Creativity at the Carnegie for a virtual tour of women’s history as told through the Museum of Discovery’s unique archives and collections.
Location is the Center for Creativity – 200 Mathews Street, Fort Collins.
faith 250: America the Beautiful
Tuesday April 7th, 6:00-8:00pm
LoveFirst Community
Katharine Lee Bates’ anthem emerged out of her travels. Her repeated prayer that God “Crown Thy good with brotherhood” asks us to consider the role of unity, fellowship, solidarity, community, and other forms of social cohesions in our understanding of the national good.
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