This summer, the museum on wheels comes back with more fun and mysteries to solve.
The Museum’s newest outreach vehicle, Curiosity Cruiser, launched in February 2020 to bring Museum experiences into the community. And like a rude tailgater, COVID-19 rushed up on its bumper just a month later. With plans for the Cruiser stalled out, the program team quickly pivoted to create a new experience theme and make more use of the outdoors.
Beginning in June 2022, the Curiosity Cruiser will be on the road again! You’ll see the Cruiser popping up at a variety of events around the Denver-metro area: community fairs and festivals, neighborhoods, senior centers, parks, breweries, farmers’ markets, sporting events and shopping centers.
The Big Idea
The custom-built Curiosity Cruiser trailer and tow vehicle bring science-based experiences to people throughout the Metro area. Equipped with your own curiosity and a Cruiser team member to guide you through the scientific process, you’ll make discoveries about yourself and the world around you through the food and flavor themed experiences on board. And beginning in 2022, there will be a fourth theme, Wonder-osity, that inspires you to follow your curiosity and put your experimentation and reasoning skills to the test to solve a mystery.
The Themes
At each Curiosity Cruiser event, you will encounter one of four experience themes inside and around the trailer, which we’ve fully stocked with fun activities and limitless wonder.
Wonder-osity
Wonder-osity inspires you to experiment with real science tools and processes to make discoveries. You'll help solve the mystery of the missing hikers, have an “electric” experience, and take the quiz to find out which famous cat you are.
Flavorology
Flavorology takes you and your friends on an interactive adventure in the five tastes—bitter, spicy, umami, sweet, and sour—mixing them with our other senses to uncover surprising things about yourself and the world around you.
Spicy: Revealed
Spicy: Revealed dares you to get to know the science behind spicy flavors and foods, and our curious relationship with them.
Mood & Food
Mood & Food invites you and your friends to question those gut feelings, trick your senses, alter your moods, taste your way through questions, and find out if you are a moody foodie!
The Experience
Regardless of the theme, every Curiosity Cruiser experience puts you in the center of your own curiosity and lays an exciting path of exploration and discovery before you through several activities:
Ice Breaker
A short quiz that sets a fun, informal tone. For example, you may see this prompt to get started: “Not every hypothesis or invention proves to be a great one and even the most well-known scientists have a bunch of failures under their belts. So, which bad idea from science are you most likely to relate to? Take the quiz and find out!”
Story Hub
Feel good, multi-sensory stories delivered as short, first-person podcast-style narratives. Each story highlights a time when nature inspired wonder, curiosity and respect for the natural world.
Experiment
Use scientific tools and processes to examine clues in an immersive setting—from testing your tolerance and physiological reaction to spice to putting pieces together and presenting your findings to solving the mystery of the hapless adventurers’ search for sasquatch.
Community Wall
Share your thoughts about the posted prompt. For example, “What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about nature? Add your two-cents!" Check out what your fellow participants have to say on the ever-changing post-it wall.
Demo & Do
Museum staff demonstrates, while participants, do! For example, you’ll have a shockingly fun time solving a puzzle using electricity and circuits—you just have to generate the electricity first!
And during some events, Lightning Talks
Short talks related to the theme given by Museum and community experts.
Book It!
Want the Curiosity Cruiser to roll up to your corporate event or block party? Or are you involved in a nonprofit that is interested in hosting the Cruiser? Visit dmns.org/curiositycruiser for booking details.
Book It Now!