Mission & History
OUR MISSION
We offer an engaging and dynamic environment that inspires children and families to explore, create and learn together through discovery and play.
A Brief History
In the fall of 2007, faced with another long, cold winter with young children, a group of local families came together to discuss the need for additional educational programs for young children, as well as a safe and engaging community meeting place where families could come together and interact with their children. On March 11, 2008, The Trailhead Children’s Discovery Museum received its nonprofit status. After a year of rotating through temporary spaces with programs and mobile exhibits, the Trailhead found a home at the base of the ski area in Mt. Crested Butte. Today, The Trailhead actively serves more than 10,000 children and families living in and visiting Gunnison County annually with enriching exhibits and programs at the museum’s 2,700 square foot facility and in extensive community outreach programming. The Trailhead is a member of the International Association of Children’s Museums.
OUR GOALS
The Trailhead Children’s Discovery Museum offers an engaging environment that inspires children and families to explore, create and learn together through discovery and play. The current long-term goals of the Trailhead are as follows:
- Create a state-of-the-art, nationally recognized children’s museum.
- Deliver extraordinary exhibits and programs to ALL residents and visitors.
- Ensure organizational stability and growth, including finances, human and material resources, as well as organizational reputation within the community.
What WE DO
- Hands-on Educational Exhibits: Art Bar: a help-yourself art studio; the Bernoulli Blower air exhibit; the Dig Pit excavation exhibit; the Dark Room light exhibit; the Pirate Ship Theater; the Nursery Nook discovery area for toddlers; Wilderness Puppet Theater; Play Gym physical activity center; the Whirligig gravity exhibit; the Geometric Peg Board; the Mystery Painting Puzzle; and The Trail Lab, a hands-on science lab, Astro Corner a journey to outer space, the Garden to Grocery Healthy Living exhibit and much more.
- Internal Programs: Create with Kelly: a guided art adventure; Sunday Science; and Letter of the Week. The Trailhead also hosts many special guests and events that provide engaging learning experiences for visitors.
- External Programs: In collaboration with The Studio Art School, the Trailhead offers afterschool art and science programming, preschool age art and science classes, as well as school break and summer camps to serve the need of affordable enrichment programs in the Valley.
- Community Outreach: Kid’s Rock Winter Concert Series in collaboration with the Crested Butte Music Festival; Family Fun Night in collaboration with the Crested Butte Center for the Arts; Fall Harvest Festival in collaboration with the Mountain Roots Food Project; annual Touch a Truck event as part of the Art Alliance Day of the Arts; Museum on Wheels including free appearances at local preschools, Farmer’s Markets, Alpenglow Concert Series, Music Festival Divine Family Concert Series activity corner, and various other locations and events. The Trailhead also works with local area preschools, public schools, and human service and mentoring organizations to offer significantly discounted rates for group visits and educational programming.
Expected results of The Trailhead’s exhibits, programs and outreach are enriching, educational experiences for ALL children, the strengthening of the educational resources in the community, as well as the opportunity for families and caregivers to connect with children in meaningful ways.
