Denver Museum of Nature & Science Extends Free Admission Offer for School Groups for the 2012-2013 School Year

Museum continues to offer free admission,fuel funding for buses, and additional scholarships to help address district budget woes

DENVER - August 15, 2012 -The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is extending free Museum admission for self-guided tours to all school groups and organized youth groups for the upcoming school year.  Additionally, the Museum is continuing to offer funding to cover bus fuel costs and scholarships to reduce fees for onsite labs and classes.  As the region's leading resource for informal science education, the Museum hosts more than 300,000 students and their chaperones each year. The organization is committed to making science affordable, fun, exciting, and engaging.

"We had such incredible feedback after waiving admission for school groups during last school year," said Polly Andrews, the Museum's director of school and teacher programs. "Our goal is to make sure that budget constraints do not keep students from visiting the Museum. Last school year more children were able to experience the Museum and make discoveries because of this free opportunity."

DETAILS ON ADMISSION AND FALL PROGRAMS

• Free Admission:Through May 2013, Museum visits are FREE for all PreK-12 school groups and organized youth groups. Reservations and a minimum of 10 students are required. Fees apply for temporary exhibitions, IMAX and Planetariums shows, and facilitated programs.

• Enhance Field Trips with a Discounted Facilitated Program:Enrich student visits and help reach state standards goals by including a discounted onsite class, lab, or Scientists in Action broadcast. Scholarships are available. Funding is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations are required.

• Receive Busing Assistance with the Bus Fuel Fund:Thanks to generous donors, the Bus Fuel Fund offers limited field trip busing assistance for Colorado schools where at least 50 percent of the students are eligible for the federal free and reduced lunch program. This program provides reimbursement for up to two buses per field trip.

• Outreach Programs:The Museum also spreads out into the community by offering a wide variety of science education programs for onsite visits at schools and other community organizations. These engaging Outreach programs are available for a variety of grade levels and audience sizes. Scholarships are also available for these fee-based programs.

• Additional Fall Offerings:

A Day in Pompeii, $5 per student, opens Friday, September 14

Get an insider's glimpse into the daily life of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. See hundreds of archaeological treasures that lay buried in Pompeii's ruins, preserved as if sealed in a time capsule. Your students will explore a city steeped in legend, examine casts of the volcano's victims frozen in time, and discover the power of volcanoes past and present. Reservations are required and scholarships are available.

IMAX Films, $5 per student

Space Junk 3D

After 50 years of launching our dreams into space, we now face a troubling legacy: a growing ring of orbiting debris from various rockets and satellites.Space Junk 3Dis a visually explosive, sensory expanding voyage into our now-threatened final frontier-22,000 miles above Earth.

Deep Sea 3D, opens Friday, September 14

From the brightly colored rainbow nudibranch to the giant Pacific octopus,Deep Sea 3Dcaptures some of the most unusual sea creatures ever seen on the IMAX screen. This is an extraordinary look at the current conditions of our oceans and how these unique ecosystems are changing.

Planetarium Shows, $5 per student, scholarships available

Wildest Weather in the Solar System

Take a spectacular journey to witness the most beautiful, powerful, and mysterious weather phenomena in the solar system. From a storm the size of a 100-megaton hydrogen bomb, to a 400-year-old hurricane, you'll be glad you live on Earth.

LEARN MORE: www.dmns.org/teachers

Media Contact
Charlotte Hurley, 303-370-6407, Charlotte.Hurley@dmns.org

About the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is the Rocky Mountain Region's leading resource for informal science education. A variety of engaging exhibits, discussions and activities help Museum visitors celebrate and understand the natural wonders of Colorado, Earth and the universe. The Museum is located at 2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO, 80205.  To learn more about the Museum, check www.dmns.org, or call 303-370-6000.
 
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Many of the Museum's educational programs and exhibits are made possible in part by the citizens of the seven-county metro area through the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District.