Looking for something fun to do with the family? Check out this interview with Shenna Hayden, the Executive Director of the Museums of Western Colorado, for this month's Full Circle Podcast. She tells REALTOR® Reece Stanley all about the three great museums that showcase our local history - Museum of the West, Dinosaur Journey, and Cross Orchards Historic Site.
If you prefer to watch your podcasts, head over to our YouTube page!
Learn more about the Museums of the West, including their hours, at their website.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker (00:05):
The Full Circle Podcast.
Compelling interviews andincredible tales from Colorado's
Western Slope, from themountains to the desert.
Christi Reece and her team hearfrom the movers, shakers, and
characters of the Grand Valleyand surrounding mountain towns
that make the Western Slope theplace we all love.
You'll learn, you'll laugh,you'll love with the Full
Circle.
Reece Stanley (00:24):
Hello, everybody.
Welcome back to the Full CirclePodcast.
I'm filling in this week forChristi Reece, and uh my name's
Reece Stanley, and we are joinedby our special guest, Shenna
Hayden with uh Museums ofWestern Colorado.
She is the executive director.
Uh welcome, Sheena.
Shenna Hayden (00:41):
Thank you for having me.
Excited to be here.
Reece Stanley (00:43):
Absolutely.
We're excited to hear moreabout, you know, everything
that's going on with themuseums, your mission and kind
of your goals for this upcomingyear and how our community
community can help you guys.
Shenna Hayden (00:55):
That's amazing.
Reece Stanley (00:56):
Yeah.
So before we dive into what'sgoing on right here in the
valley, we'd love to learn moreabout you and um what brought
you into the Grand Junction areaand a little bit about your
background.
Shenna Hayden (01:07):
Absolutely.
Um, well, I've I've been withthe museums of Western Colorado
for a little over a year and ahalf now.
And I've been in museums myentire career, um, which has
been really exciting and hastaken me on lots of fun
adventures.
I am originally from SouthTexas and uh ranch kid, grew up
(01:31):
in the middle of nowhere on theback of a horse.
So um going into museum workwas was really exciting and led
me to explore many things and uhstarted my career at the Whitty
Museum in San Antonio.
Um I ended my time there as uhdirector of public programs.
(01:54):
Um took took a break.
My husband is a singer andsongwriter, so we went on tour
with him, it was a lot of fun.
We traveled around about 60,000miles in an RV on tour with him
with our uh at the time he wasfour.
Um it was very exciting.
We had a blast.
Reece Stanley (02:14):
Yeah.
Shenna Hayden (02:15):
Uh, but then really wanted to get back into
the museum world.
So we moved to WashingtonState, where I was an assistant
director at the hands-onchildren's museum in Olympia,
Washington.
And that's where we were whenCOVID happened.
So learned a lot aboutpivoting.
Reece Stanley (02:33):
Yeah.
Shenna Hayden (02:34):
How to rethink what you're already doing.
Um, but we our our museum didreally well through COVID, which
was um a blessing.
Many museums did not do aswell.
There were lots of children'smuseums who ended up closing
their doors permanently, uh,which was really sad and really
hard to watch.
(02:55):
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, we we had a great leaderuh there, and so you know, we
learned a lot and was excitedto, you know, look for an
opportunity uh to advance mycareer, but also in Colorado
specifically, because my parentsretired here in not in Grand
(03:17):
Junction, but they're they're inWestcliff.
And uh they just love Coloradoand we love coming down here all
the time, and we've spent somuch time visiting and
vacationing in Colorado.
So it was a really easy placeto move to.
Yeah.
So here I am.
That's wonderful.
That's wonderful.
Reece Stanley (03:36):
Well, that that is uh a lot of experience packed
in and in kind of short timeframe, really.
Like getting to get to see howthings operate in Washington and
and Texas.
That's um pretty special thatyou bring that experience and
expertise here to the GrandValley.
Shenna Hayden (03:54):
So yeah, thanks.
Yeah, we I was really excitedto be chosen for this
opportunity.
And I think one of the thingsthat the board was really
excited about was that, youknow, expertise that I have in
informal education, you know,with public programs, as well as
um hands-on museum exhibits andgetting kids more involved and
(04:16):
getting our families uh moreexcited about learning together.
Um and you know, that's whatwe're trying to bring to the
museums, yeah.
Reece Stanley (04:27):
Well, that's great.
And and so when we talk aboutmuseums of western Colorado,
it's made up of three differentmuseums, correct?
Shenna Hayden (04:35):
Yes, that's correct.
Reece Stanley (04:36):
Could you tell us a little bit about each of
those?
Shenna Hayden (04:38):
Yes, absolutely.
So uh we are Museum of theWest, which is located in
downtown Grand Junction on 4thand Ute.
Uh, and we have DinosaurJourney, which is in Fruta, and
Cross Orchards, which is in likethe Fruit Vale area.
Um, and all three are amazingplaces to be.
(04:58):
They're very exciting, but havevery specialized um content, I
guess.
So uh Museum of the West isreally focused around our
history in the Grand Valley andthe Colorado Plateau.
So we're looking at, you know,history uh with the Ute and the
Mountain Men and transportationand trains, and we're looking
(05:21):
into mining, and um we're reallywanting to explore uh further
the agricultural story becausethat's a huge part of where we
live.
Like this is a we have tons ofagritourism here, which is
really exciting and wonderful.
Um, but in the museum, we don'treally go into too much depth
(05:43):
about that.
And that's something that we'relooking forward to to adding to
our story.
Um, dinosaur journey isobviously all dinosaurs about
that, you know, Colorado deeptime, like how far back do we
go?
And you know, what was it likehere millions of years ago?
What dinosaurs were found?
We're really lucky in that wehave our own dig program.
(06:07):
So all summer long, people cancome and go on dinosaur digs
with us, dig up real dinosaurfossils.
Uh, they go into the museum,they're studied, so you
unfortunately don't get to takeanything home, but we do have a
few trips where you can comewith us and and find stuff to
take home.
But um, those dinosaurs areused for research, and they get
(06:29):
put into papers, and otheruniversities and other
paleontologists come out andstudy them.
Um, so we are a real workingresearch laboratory out there,
which is really fun as well.
Reece Stanley (06:42):
Yeah, that's amazing.
So, how far do you guys have totravel to go to these different
dig sites?
Shenna Hayden (06:47):
Oh, not far at all.
This super close.
Yeah, we go um to RabbitValley, okay.
Um, which is just it's not toofar west of Fruta.
Um, really easy to get to.
It's not a crazy hike oranything.
It's it's really accessible formost people.
So yeah.
Reece Stanley (07:07):
Yeah.
We've we've gone out there acouple of times and ended the
little loop that you get to seethe fossils and different
things.
Yeah, was that fun?
Yeah, yeah, it's pretty cool.
That's great.
So, okay, and um looking atcross orchards, tell us tell us
more about that facility.
Shenna Hayden (07:23):
Yeah, so cross orchards is is really special
and it's one of my favoritesites um because we do explore
that agriculture story uh indepth because um it is on the
historical register, so it is aprotected property.
We um have the orchard there,so it used to be um a couple
(07:47):
hundred acres of apple trees, ifyou can imagine that now, like
driving down Patterson and it'sjust houses, you know,
everywhere.
Um, but that used to be anorchard.
Okay.
And the gentleman who um ranthat originally in the early
1900s was and was not from here.
He was like, Oh, we're gonnamake money in the apple
(08:08):
business.
And he was from like theNortheast, yeah.
Yeah, and you know, they didgreat for a long time until um I
it was um Matt Darling, who'sour curator out there, is gonna
hear this and get on to me, I'msure.
Um, but I think it was thecoddling moth that kind of ended
(08:29):
up uh decimating a lot of thecrops.
And I'm sorry, Matt, if I gotthat wrong, but um so a lot of
the tree they lost a lot of theoriginal trees, and so when it
was replanted, it was muchsmaller.
So when you go out there now,and then you know, the orchard
changed hands and shrunk andshrunk and shrunk, and right,
you know, now it's we've got 14acres.
(08:50):
Um, it's still an absolutelybeautiful place, thanks to our
volunteers.
So just to go out there for awalk is it's very restful.
Like it's you can reconnectwith nature, you're you're in
the middle of town, but it'seasy to let all of that melt
away and you know, enjoy thetrees and the barn.
(09:12):
There, the barn is gorgeous,it's huge.
And it is the old packing shed,so it's where they would come
out, all the apples would getloaded into the barn, and then
the women would be packing thesecrates.
And if you go out to Palisade,actually, and um check out their
uh his the his PalisadeHistorical Society has a small
little museum.
(09:33):
Okay, they have videos um andsome stuff that shows the women
packing peaches.
I mean, they did it the sameway for the apples, so it it
goes either way.
But the speed at which theypack these crates was so
impressive, like just going 90to nothing.
Yeah, and it was it's soamazing.
And then you get to try it, seeif you can pack as fast.
(09:56):
And you can't, no, nobody can.
No, that was it's a learnedskill.
That is a skill that we do notcurrently have anymore.
But funny, yeah.
Yeah, it's just it's a lot offun to go out there.
We've been doing a lot of uhprograms out there over the
summer.
We have a farmers market umthat's on Saturday mornings.
It's very well attended.
This was the greatest yearwe've had, you know, in and
(10:18):
that's open to the public.
Open to the public.
Reece Stanley (10:20):
Not no admission required, you can just go to the
market.
Shenna Hayden (10:24):
Yeah, you can just come to the market for
free.
We try to encourage everyone toalso buy admission and go in
and check out the rest of theproperty.
Um, just because I mean, you'reout there, it's it's a great
opportunity to to check it allout.
Reece Stanley (10:37):
Awesome.
Well, my uh my son just did hisfield trip to Cross Orchards
last week.
And so I I don't know what kindof moth, but he did tell me
that a moth killed all thetrees.
So he was he was very impressedby the moth.
Shenna Hayden (10:52):
He was very, yeah, a moth.
How does a moth do that?
It starts off as the littlegreen worm.
Right.
Reece Stanley (10:59):
Yeah, exactly.
Shenna Hayden (11:00):
I love that.
Reece Stanley (11:01):
Yeah, he he had a great time.
He it was very educational.
He liked all the different uhthings you could explore, and
yeah, they it was great.
The kids enjoyed it.
Shenna Hayden (11:11):
Did he get to to see the washing, like how to
wash clothes and stuff?
Yeah.
That's always it's it's funnyto me, it you know, funny, not
funny, um, how fascinated someof the kids get with the washing
of the clothes.
Right.
And they'll want to stay atthat station and be like, no,
no, no, I want to wash clothes.
I want to wash the clothes.
Reece Stanley (11:32):
We might have to rethink how we do things at home
and get some extra help.
Shenna Hayden (11:36):
Get some washboards and a bucket, you
know.
Yeah, exactly.
Entertainment for hours.
Reece Stanley (11:41):
Uh-huh.
Exactly.
Well, that's wonderful.
I I'm curious with each of thelocations, what are what are
some of the challenges that youguys are facing right now?
Um, what are some of the goalsthat you guys have set for each
of the different facilities?
And kind of what is what does2026 look like for you guys?
Shenna Hayden (11:59):
That's a great, very big question.
Lots of, yeah, multi-layered.
So yeah.
Um well, you know, our ourbiggest challenge that we are
facing and currently workingwith, you know, the sit city
officials to figure out what howwe can solve some of these
(12:21):
challenges is, you know, we havethree sites.
We're spread out.
That's it's difficult forstaffing, it's difficult on our
budget.
You know, we have the budget ofone museum and we're really
running three, um, is what thatyou know really comes down to.
And underscoring that, it's umeverything they're all aging
(12:44):
buildings.
And there's lots of grants outthere, and we work towards you
know getting some of those.
And you know, this year was areally weird year for grants
just across the board for allmuseums across the country.
You know, everybody was hitreally hard with things um
shutting down and beingdiscontinued, and then um a lot
(13:04):
of funding streams dried up, andit also impacted philanthropy
across the board.
And, you know, we've we've seena drop in in giving and a
change in the giving pattern.
Uh, so that was something that,you know, none of us had a
crystal ball.
We couldn't see that comingthis year.
Um, and we've been able topivot and figure out like, okay,
(13:27):
well, what else can we do?
How can we make this work?
And so next year um we will behosting a community roundtable
in January.
We want to get some people uharound the table and talk about
what is it that we really wantto do well?
Like, what are we doing well?
And what is the story we wantto tell?
(13:48):
Because really that's that's atthe heart of what our mission
is.
Like, we want to inspirelearning and we want to focus
that on the Colorado Plateau.
So we've kind of started takingsteps to figure out like, what
is if we can figure out whatthat story is and what is at the
(14:09):
heart of what we're telling?
Like, are we starting with thatColorado deep time and just
taking that on a journey all theway through, you know, current
day?
Um, are we do we really want todo traveling exhibits?
And I think the answer isprobably yes on that one.
But, you know, are we what typeof programming are we wanting
(14:29):
to offer?
Like we next year we're gonnado camps again, which we used to
do a long time ago.
Um, and then you know, we justhaven't had the staffing for it
and you know, all kinds ofthings.
But um, we're gonna startbringing these things back so
that we can reconnect with thecommunity in a meaningful way
that means something to them.
(14:50):
Um, most of our visitation istourists, which is fantastic
because you know that brings ina whole other level of you know
into the economy that you knowwe wouldn't be doing otherwise.
So that's great, but we'rehere, we're a resource for our
community first and foremost.
(15:11):
And like, how do we how do wereconnect in a way that is
meaningful?
So I think we're gonna we'regonna start there in January.
Yeah, that's great.
And figure out like, okay, whatis what is really resonating
with with our locals and what dothey want to see when they take
an out-of-towner to the museum?
Like what makes you walk in thedoors and be like, oh, I'm so
(15:32):
proud to be from the GrandValley and in Western Colorado.
Um so after you know, we figurethat out, then I think that's
gonna help us inform some nextsteps and um we're ready to
start a big revitalizationproject.
It's it's time to startthinking about those aging
(15:53):
buildings and you know, how canwe uh make the museum more
sustainable?
Next year's our 60thanniversary.
Oh, wow, okay, which we'rereally excited about.
Um so it's it's a great time tobe thinking about the next 60
years.
Like, how do we ensure thatwe're still here in the next 60
years for those kids?
Reece Stanley (16:15):
Absolutely.
So, with it being your 60thyear, are all locations year 60,
or did it start at a certainlocation and grow from there?
Shenna Hayden (16:25):
It started at a certain location and grew.
So um originally it was well,we had a couple of different
names, and it goes back evenfurther than 60 years.
So in the 1940s, uh they thegroup that wanted to start a
museum originally bought someAdobe bricks, and they were
like, We're gonna build a museumwith these bricks, and so they
(16:46):
got started, and it didn't cometogether completely, and the
building ended up being achurch.
Oh, wow.
Which the this is a fun tidbitthat hopefully someone will find
really fun, but yeah, the uhpreacher of that church um had a
son whose name was SteveScrockins, and he is on our
(17:08):
board.
Reece Stanley (17:09):
Oh, really?
Shenna Hayden (17:10):
Which is really like such a cool tie-in, I
think, for us.
Um, so he is we we laugh andjoke, and we're like, You're so
old, you've like been here sincethe very beginning.
You've been you've been a partof the museum since the start.
But um, he's just the sweetest,and you know, we and we enjoy
having his input on there.
(17:30):
But yeah, so we started westarted with those Adobe Bricks,
and then you know, things kindof broke up for a while and then
it came back together.
Um, so 60 years ago, theyrestarted the museum, and um it
was it was really just a hithistory based.
Okay, you know, and thendinosaurs were added a little
while later, and I think youknow, everyone might remember, I
(17:54):
think the the dinosaur part wason Main Street, and there used
to be the dinosaur footprints,oops, sorry, down the uh there
used to be dinosaur footprintsdown the sidewalk that took you
there.
And um then later on uh theywere fortunate enough to get the
building out in Fruta, whichused to be Dynamation, which was
(18:16):
a company that made animatronicdinosaurs.
So that company um kind of wentout of business and the museum
kind of absorbed it.
And so we had lots ofanimatronic dinosaurs, and then
we started, you know, collectingon top of that.
Um, and now, current day, youknow, we have all three sites in
the it was 1989 or 90, Ibelieve, um, when we got cross
(18:39):
orchards.
Okay.
Um, and that was, you know,thanks to, you know, a lot of
community members who cametogether to make that happen.
Uh because it was gonna bedeveloped, and you know, we were
like, we don't want to losethis piece of history.
It's a really big part of whowe are.
Um, so a way to go, everybody.
(18:59):
And that's the job is we'regonna come together.
Yeah, come together and make ithappen.
Um and we still have avolunteer with us um out at
Cross Orchards, and you know,she was there from the very
beginning, and you know, she'sin her late 80s, and it's just
amazing.
And she'll come out every timewe do an event and she bakes
(19:21):
cookies in the old bunkhouse.
And yeah, anyway, yeah.
So yeah, current date.
We also um we are a repositoryfor stuff that comes off of BLM
land.
So we work with the federalgovernment, and um, so anytime
anyone's doing an excavation,uh, all of that stuff has to
come to us, whether it'sarchaeology or paleontology.
(19:42):
Um we you know do our part tomake sure that that stuff is
cared for and it's available forresearch and stuff like that.
Reece Stanley (19:50):
Amazing.
Yeah, that's awesome.
It's a lot of fun.
Well, touching on volunteers,tell tell us more about you
know, how many volunteers do youguys have?
Is that um the main source ofyour your staffing?
And and I guess just expand onthat for us.
Shenna Hayden (20:09):
Yeah, absolutely.
Um, we could not do much ofanything without our volunteers.
They're really the heart andsoul of our organization.
We have about a hundred of themright now, um, which is
amazing.
We back in the day, we used tohave like 300 volunteers.
It was a massive um volunteerorganization, but um, over the
(20:34):
years, you know, that dwindled.
COVID took out a lot of peopleand uh not not permanently, like
they just stopped volunteering.
Let me clarify what just cameout of my mouth.
Whoa.
Um good clarification just toclarify, they're all okay.
Um no, they so when I came onboard, it had dwindled down to
(20:57):
about you know between 40 and 50people.
Oh wow, and so it was it was avery small group, and that was
one of the things that I wantedto make sure um we were able to
focus on.
And so I hired a volunteercoordinator who her name is
Janae Moon, and a lot of peopleknow that name around here
because it's Moon Farms, it'sthat family.
(21:18):
And uh Janae is just theloveliest person you'll ever
meet, and she has beeninstrumental in making sure that
those volunteers are cared forand that we're putting people in
the right positions and growingthat.
So, I mean, we have like ahundred volunteers now, so
that's a that's huge growth inin less than a year and very
(21:42):
impressive.
And so I mean, we have peoplewill be like, oh, well, I want
to come volunteer, what could Ido?
And it's literally like almostanything.
Like, what are you interestedin?
Right.
We probably have a job for that.
It's like the I've been joking,I don't know if you've seen the
home goods commercials orwhatever, where they're like,
Oh, do you have a disco unicornon a globe?
(22:04):
It's like, yeah, we have thathere.
Yeah, we have that here.
Reece Stanley (22:07):
Anything you want, anything you want.
Shenna Hayden (22:08):
What do you want to do?
Um, everyone loves dinosaurs,and um, that's always a fun
place to volunteer.
But you know, out at crossorchards, that's our our biggest
need right now.
So if you know anybody wants todrive a train for funsies, um,
come out and volunteer with us.
Reece Stanley (22:26):
Yeah, it sounds like there's harder stuff to do.
Driving a train would be prettyfun.
Shenna Hayden (22:30):
Driving the train is really fun.
You can also garden.
We have you know all kinds ofthings, lots of manual labor,
but you know, driving that trainwould be a lot of fun.
Yeah.
Um, we also have uh an early1920s um fire truck that we give
rides on.
So you can learn how to drivethat and take people on rides.
(22:53):
It's a lot of fun.
So um, and then at Museum ofthe West, that's where our
library and archive um exists.
And so we try to um get peoplewho are interested in things
like research and maybe theywant to help digitize our
collection.
I mean, that is an ongoingprocess that will take, you
(23:14):
know, I don't know, 20 moreyears.
Right.
We've so many things um in ourcollection.
So just digitizing justphotographs, which is the
easiest thing to do, um, takesan enormous amount of time, not
to mention like actual smallartifacts or large artifacts.
It's you know, you have to takepictures and then upload them
(23:36):
and do a description.
It's it's a lot of work andit's tedious, but there's a lot
of people out there who love tohelp do stuff like that.
Reece Stanley (23:45):
Oh, absolutely.
All the scrapbookers and ohyeah, yeah.
Shenna Hayden (23:49):
Genealogy.
If you love genealogy, boy, dowe have a deal for you.
Right.
Reece Stanley (23:55):
Right.
That you know, that makes mewonder is there with the
advancement of like technologyand everything in your space,
museum and everything, are youseeing a use for like AI and
different things to implement inwhat you guys do?
Shenna Hayden (24:10):
Yeah, that's a great question.
So museum people, I think, loveto talk about technology in
museums because there's amisconception that we're just an
old dusty place where oldthings are, and you go in and
you need to be quiet and youdon't touch anything.
And um, it's just not true.
And we try to stay up withrecent technology just as much
(24:34):
as everyone else.
I mean, the difficulty and thechallenge that we hit is, you
know, if you're if you'reputting a new technology into an
exhibit, chances are by thetime it's open, it's already old
tech.
So, you know, trying to figureout like what is that balance
and how do you create somethingthat continues to be meaningful
for, you know, at least fiveyears.
(24:55):
Um, so we have to look at thatvery carefully when we're
putting stuff into into theexhibits.
Um, as far as using AI, I mean,there there's a lot of there's
a lot of things around AI rightnow that can be tricky, but I am
a firm believer in the factthat the these are all tools and
(25:15):
there are ways to use them.
Um, we you know, we're notgonna go write our research
papers, but fair enough.
Definitely not that, but butthere are ways to use it.
And um we're actually workingwith um he's an engineer, a
retired engineer who's helpingus with some augmented reality
(25:38):
um programs, I guess.
Oh yeah.
I'm like, I'm not the techperson either.
So but it's very good.
I'm like, I love all of it andthink it's great, but um, yeah,
so he's he's helping us withsome augmented reality stuff
that we'll be doing at DinosaurJourney.
Okay.
And that's been, you know, kindof a process that we're taking a
little bit slower to make surethat we we get it right and that
(26:01):
we're not implementingsomething that will be because
augmented reality's been aroundfor a hot minute.
So um, but it's still reallyexciting and fun.
And there's uh, you know, waysto do it that that makes it
exciting for everybody.
Reece Stanley (26:15):
Yeah, I bet.
That's awesome.
Well, um looking forward at2026, what is what are some of
your goals for the facilities?
Shenna Hayden (26:24):
Yeah.
Um so like I mentioned, youknow, really working with the
community to figure out youknow, how how do we hone in on
our focus and and what is itthat we're gonna do um moving
forward for the next 60 years?
And I think that's gonna that'sgonna be a big part of of the
first six months of next year,uh, taking a look at what what
(26:48):
do we want to put all of ourweight behind.
Uh, we will be going into acapital campaign next year.
Um and and that's gonna helpus, you know, with with the with
our building issue, you know.
It might be that we need wantto combined two of our museums
so that we can focus ourselvesin a deeper way.
(27:11):
Um, and we're we're looking atwhat those, you know, what does
that imply?
And like how how could we makethat happen?
And how is it financiallystable?
Um, so these are all thingsthat we're looking at next year.
It feels like we've got a lotof variables up in the air.
Sure.
So, you know, as we'refinishing up budget, it's kind
of like, oh gosh, it's a littledaunting, but um we we want to
(27:36):
do things right and we want totake it slow and we want to make
sure we're talking to thecommunity um all while, you
know, still moving as fast as wecan, because you know, we want
to make sure that we're we'resustainable and that we're here
in the next 60 years.
Um, so making some of thosehard decisions um for the museum
(27:59):
is it can be daunting, but it'salso exciting.
Like I'm so excited.
Next year will be a whirlwind,I'm sure.
But I think getting to dig inand and talk with the community
about what is most meaningful tothem.
I mean, that's stuff that fillsyour cup up.
Reece Stanley (28:19):
So absolutely that connection.
Yeah.
Well, with the with the capitalcampaign in mind, do you guys
do you already have a goal setfor what you're hoping to
accomplish there?
Or are you still kind offinalizing that?
Shenna Hayden (28:31):
We're we're still kind of finalizing that.
I know that next year when westart, our our goal for next
year is gonna be a milliondollars, which is a lot, but I
think we can do it.
Yeah.
Um we plan to we're you know,and here I am talking public
publicly.
I mean, next year is gonna bemore of a silent year.
(28:53):
And I think in 2027, we'rereally gonna, you know, hit hit
it big with with capitalcampaign.
Okay.
Um, and the 2027 goal will bemuch larger, but you know, next
year we'll we're hoping to raisea million dollars just to kind
of kick it off of you know wherewe're heading.
And you know, when we havethose plans set, well, I'll come
(29:16):
back and tell you what thoseare.
I feel like I'm being a littlecryptid, but I mean it's okay.
Reece Stanley (29:24):
I'm doing that on purpose.
Yeah, that's okay.
That's okay.
Um, so tell us the main waysthat the museums generate their
revenue.
Shenna Hayden (29:32):
Yeah.
So museums have earned revenueand contributed revenue.
And earned revenue iseverything from admissions to
program fees, um, contracts, um,all those sorts of things.
Um, and then contributed incomeis donations, sponsorships, and
(29:55):
things like that.
And that's, you know it.
It depends on the organizationand the size of the organization
as to what that percentage isof those.
Um, you know, it could be a50-50 split for some
organizations.
Sometimes it's, you know,60-40.
Um, just depends on on how thatorganization is run.
(30:17):
Um, you know, right now we'rewe're kind of looking at a 60-40
split with you know, 60 beingour contributed income, uh,
which is fantastic.
That, you know, we still have alot of people who are, you
know, supporting us withdonations and sponsorships.
And um, we really want toincrease that because you, you
(30:38):
know, it's we're we have a smallstaff of 20 people that run
three organizations.
Yeah.
And and all of thosevolunteers.
Um, and you know, we still getto the end of the week and we're
like, gosh, there's so muchmore we want to do.
(30:59):
And the bandwidth for that isis just small right now.
So, you know, we we're lookingforward to next year and being
able to determine just just howwe can grow uh so that we can do
all the things we want to do.
Because, you know, we we we'vedone a few things, we've done a
lot of fun stuff this year, andyou know, taking a step back
(31:21):
with your staff and being like,okay, I know we want to do all
the fun things, right?
But everyone is really tiredand everyone's getting sick and
we're doing too much.
So um just you know, taking astep back and making sure that,
you know, as the organization'sleader that I'm taking care of
(31:43):
my people.
Like, I don't, you know, andI'm and sometimes I'm the worst
one because I'm like, yes, let'sdo it.
I'm I'm a yes person, 100%.
I'm always like, yes, and wecan do this.
But um, you know, we're we'rejust trying to be really mindful
over the next couple of yearsso that we can build in a
sustainable way, not onlyfinancially, but like as a team,
(32:07):
yeah, making sure that we'rekeep everybody taking care of
each other.
Reece Stanley (32:11):
Exactly.
Yeah, yeah, super important.
Well, switching gears just alittle bit, um, I would like to
talk more about the differentum, the different programs that
you guys have at the museums.
Yeah.
Um, I know on your website youhave several things at Dinosaur
Journey as well as Museum of theWest.
So tell us a little bit moreabout that, uh, those and how
(32:34):
the community can get involvedin those programs.
Shenna Hayden (32:36):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, I'm gonna start with ourour K through 12 education
programs because that is theeasiest way um to get involved
besides just volunteering.
Um, we create so when I came onboard, we we had self-guided
and guided field trips, which isgreat and it's fantastic, and
(32:59):
every museum has that.
But what we wanted to add wassomething that was a little more
directed towards our studentsand how do we help them out with
their curriculum?
So we've started make gettingrelationships with teachers
through D51.
Um, and Janae is a retiredteacher as well, so she's got
great connections, and um we'vebeen working really hard on
(33:22):
building up those programs for Kthrough 12.
So we started with the fourthgrader program, which fourth
grade is when you learn aboutColorado history.
And so it's called the ColoradoLife Ways Program, and that was
the first one we did.
And it's the kiddos get to comein, they do a tour, and then
they also get to come down intothe basement and they put on the
(33:43):
white gloves.
Nice, they get to touch theartifacts, we have tables set
out, and they they become thedetectives, they're like history
detectives.
Yeah, and they have certainthings set on the table and they
have to take a look at thoseand decide what is this telling
me?
So, you know, they have amountain man table, the Ute
(34:03):
table, and then they have atable that's about some of the
first settlers who came to theGrand Valley.
And they need to figure out howdid they live?
How are they getting food,water, shelter, how were their
basic needs met?
What on the table is telling usthat this group of people were
thriving, like living a greatlife and a full life.
(34:24):
Um, and that's always so funfor me to watch the light bulbs
go off.
Yeah.
Like holding something in theirhand makes it real.
It's no longer looking in abook at a picture that's like
teeny tiny and trying toimagine, you know, what was it
like uh to do any of thesethings?
(34:47):
It's so far removed.
Um, so this is that's been areally meaningful program.
And we created the Explorationfor All fund for it.
It was originally going to bejust for that fourth grade
program.
And then we quickly realizedthat no, no, no, this needs to
be for everything and foreveryone.
(35:08):
Um it's a basically ascholarship fund so that
students and teachers can cometo the museum for 100% free.
Reece Stanley (35:17):
Oh wow.
Shenna Hayden (35:18):
And so we raise the money and it covers their
program fee and museum fee, butthen we also mail a check to the
school for the bus.
Oh wow.
So, as you know, with kiddos,um, there's always reasons to
send five or ten dollars toschool for something.
And, you know, sometimes itmakes it unaccessible.
(35:40):
And we 100% believe likemuseums should be accessible
spaces for everybody, and everystudent in the Grand Valley and
beyond has a reason to come hereand learn with us.
And so this uh the Explorationfor All fund, which is what
we're, you know, it's part ofour annual giving here at the
(36:01):
end of the year.
Um, we really focus hard onraising money for that so that
we can make sure that everystudent has the opportunity to
attend the museum, regardless ofwhat's going on anywhere else.
And paying for those busesmeans a lot too, because the
kiddos have to pay for that too.
It's like two or three bucks akid, and um, you know, it just
(36:25):
uh it starts adding up.
Reece Stanley (36:26):
Oh, absolutely.
Yeah.
Do you know how many um kidshave benefited from the Explore
for All fund?
Shenna Hayden (36:34):
Yes.
So this year is really thefirst year that we've started
doing that, and we've been ableto serve, oh my gosh, it's it's
over, it's like over a thousandkids, which is amazing.
And we um our goal for nextyear was four thousand for 2026,
(36:56):
our goal is 4,000 kiddos.
But I think we're gonna hit itthis year.
Wow, that's awesome.
We um in summer we were like,okay, like we'll hit 3,000.
Like that's you know, that wasour goal for this year.
But we've had such a busy fallthat we're we're so close to
hitting 4,000 for this year.
(37:16):
And we're we've been, you know,just completely floored that we
did that.
And we're like, well, do we gofor another thousand for next
year?
Or like do we keep the samegoal?
I don't know.
But um, so it's really excitingjust to see those kids coming
into the museum.
Like that's I mean, that's myjam.
I'm so it makes me so happy tosee them.
Reece Stanley (37:39):
Oh, absolutely.
It creates a love for theircommunity, they're proud of
where they came from, learningabout it.
It's so beneficial.
Shenna Hayden (37:47):
Yeah, I loved going to museums as a kid, and
it was so meaningful.
And you know, anytime I talk topeople, I like to ask them,
what was your favorite fieldtrip growing up?
Because it's it always sayssomething about that person and
you know what stood out to them.
And um, so often there's thereis a connection to your later
(38:09):
career and something that yousaw in a field trip or some type
of experience like a museum asa kid.
And it's all about make gettingthat spark for every kiddo.
So yeah, donations to theExploration for All fund is is
(38:29):
definitely an accessible way togo.
Um, you know, any any amount isgreat and goes a long way.
Reece Stanley (38:37):
Yeah.
Shenna Hayden (38:37):
Yeah.
Reece Stanley (38:38):
That's wonderful.
Well, congrats on meeting thatgoal.
Shenna Hayden (38:41):
Yeah, thanks.
Reece Stanley (38:42):
And yeah, I think you should raise it next year.
That's a great great idea.
Shenna Hayden (38:45):
Yeah, yeah, we will.
Let's say that's awesome.
5,000.
Reece Stanley (38:48):
There you go.
I love it.
Shenna Hayden (38:49):
It's gonna scare our team.
They're gonna be like, oh mygod, all the kids.
Reece Stanley (38:54):
So many kids.
That's incredible.
Shenna Hayden (38:56):
We do trips and tours, so you can come and go on
a on a tour with us and umcheck it out and spend some time
with the curators.
Sometimes it's me and avolunteer, and we'll do fun
tours just around the local areabecause that's where our
expertise is.
So that's what we're trying tofocus on.
(39:17):
Um, and then other programslike um Dino Day during the
summer, which is a really funfamily day.
Come out to Dinosaur Journey.
You get to do lots of funhands-on activities.
Um, right now we're gettingready to do Christmas at Cross
Orchards.
That'll be on December 13th.
So that's gonna be anotherfamily day style activity.
(39:38):
Bring your family out.
We'll have lots of uh hands-onactivities and hot cocoa, you'll
get to meet Santa, ride thetrain.
Um, and then uh oh, November30th, which is um it's Museum
Store Sunday.
Okay.
And that's something thathappens across the country at
(39:59):
all museums.
We all try to celebrate.
So it's like right afterthere's Thanksgiving, and they
have Black Friday and um SmallBusiness Saturday, and then
Museum Store Sunday.
So we participate both Saturdayand Sunday.
But Sunday we'll have Santa outat Dinosaur Journey and picking
Peggy Malone, who is a localhero and star.
Yeah.
(40:19):
Um, she'll be coming out anddoing some sing-alongs with the
kiddos while they get to seeSanta amongst the dinosaurs,
which is so fun.
Yeah.
So um, I know Santa's veryexcited to come see us.
Reece Stanley (40:34):
Always.
Shenna Hayden (40:34):
Um yeah, so just fun stuff like that.
I mean, check out the websiteand follow us on social media.
Um, we're always trying to keepup to date, or sometimes we'll
share what other people aredoing too, if it's you know part
of our mission or close toclose to our hearts as well.
Reece Stanley (40:53):
Awesome.
Shenna Hayden (40:54):
Yeah, awesome.
Reece Stanley (40:54):
Well, you mentioned K through 12
involvement.
Do you guys have any sort ofrelationship with the university
that you guys do anything intheir programs?
Shenna Hayden (41:03):
Um we do we do work closely with CMU on lots of
things.
We have tons of interns thatactually come from CMU, uh,
which is really exciting.
And we've been working onstrengthening that relationship.
Uh, we just recently uh met andstarted working with one of the
new education professors there,and we're building that
(41:26):
relationship and what that couldlook like in the future.
Uh we actually just did alittle mini exhibit in the
education department at CMU tohonor their 100th anniversary.
Uh so that was really exciting.
We um our director ofpaleontology teaches at CMU.
Okay.
We've been exploring how toexpand those offerings.
(41:49):
And, you know, maybe there'smore ways to get some of our
staff involved in teaching.
Um we yeah, I mean, it's it's anever-ending list of ways we
want to partner with CMU, andthey're such good stewards, and
they are always like, Yeah,let's figure it out.
Yeah, let's go.
(42:09):
Which is great.
Reece Stanley (42:11):
Awesome.
Well, I want to make sure tohonor your time.
I really appreciate you comingand speaking with us and telling
us all about uh the museums andhow to get involved.
Um, so if somebody does want tovolunteer or donate, how how
can they reach out and do that?
Shenna Hayden (42:28):
Yeah, I definitely start with a website,
um, museumsofwesternco.org ormowc.co um will get you there.
Um and there's a link tovolunteer.
So just click on that, andthere's a short little form, and
that'll get you in touch withuh Janae, and then we find the
(42:51):
right place for you to donate.
There's a link on our websiteright now for donations.
Um, we're also a part of GrandValley Gives and Colorado Gives
and Giving Tuesdays, so there'sgoing to be a lot of
opportunities coming up onsocial media to give.
Um coming in just to a museum,you can give any one of the
(43:13):
locations.
Um, and you know, if ifsomething that I I've said
sounds exciting to anybody, likeand you want to hear more, or
you want to do abehind-the-scenes tour, I am
more than happy to do that andand have those conversations
with people.
Um, one of my favorite thingsto do is to do behind the scenes
(43:34):
tours at Museum of the West,because I get to show off some
of my favorite things.
And it's really fun.
Um, and it it really gives youa different view of the museums
because you know, we've got like5% of everything on display.
There's so much more to see.
Yes, okay.
There's a lot back there.
Reece Stanley (43:54):
Yeah, no kidding.
Shenna Hayden (43:55):
And people are like, oh, I had no idea.
Reece Stanley (43:58):
So that I guess makes me wonder how do you
decide what you do display andum how often do you guys swap
out exhibits and everything?
Shenna Hayden (44:06):
Yeah, that's a that's a great question.
So in most museums, you'regonna be switching out um
permanent exhibits less often,like every five years, but you
still want to rotate thingsbecause it's protecting the
actual collection.
Um, so having stuff out forreally long periods of time is
not great on those objects.
(44:28):
So we do want to get into thehabit of rotating things a
little more often.
Um, and right now it's beenreally slow going because one,
you know, what we don't want todo is just start doing stuff
willy-nilly just to just tochange it.
Um, we want to be mindful inwhat we're doing.
So those, you know, meetingsnext year with the community to
(44:50):
talk about what is the storywe're trying to tell and what do
we really want to do is reallyimportant and it's gonna inform
you know what gets to come outnext.
But but next year with our 60thanniversary, we're gonna do an
exhibit that will have all kindsof fun stuff that hasn't been
out for people to see in a longtime.
Oh, cool.
So yeah, cool.
(45:10):
And will that be at alllocations or it will just be at
Museum of the West in our wehave a the Grand Junction Lions
Club traveling exhibit gallery,which we're very proud to have.
Um, it's about 2,000 squarefeet, and so that will be full
of our 60th anniversary exhibit.
Reece Stanley (45:27):
Awesome.
Yeah, well, thank you so much,Shenna.
And is it is there anythingelse that you want to touch on
before we go?
Shenna Hayden (45:34):
I think we did a good job.
Reece Stanley (45:36):
All right.
Awesome.
Thank you for joining us.
Speaker (45:39):
Thank you for having me.
Thanks for listening.
This is Christi Reece signingout from the Full Circle
Podcast.
The Full Circle Podcast.
Compelling interviews andincredible tales from Colorado's
Western Slope, from themountains to the desert.
Christi Reece and her team hearfrom the movers, shakers, and
characters of the Grand Valleyand surrounding mountain towns
that make the Western Slope theplace we all love.
You'll learn, you'll laugh,you'll love with the Full
Circle.
Reece Stanley (00:24):
Hello, everybody.
Welcome back to the Full CirclePodcast.
I'm filling in this week forChristi Reece, and uh my name's
Reece Stanley, and we are joinedby our special guest, Shenna
Hayden with uh Museums ofWestern Colorado.
She is the executive director.
Uh welcome, Sheena.
Shenna Hayden (00:41):
Thank you for having me.
Excited to be here.
Reece Stanley (00:43):
Absolutely.
We're excited to hear moreabout, you know, everything
that's going on with themuseums, your mission and kind
of your goals for this upcomingyear and how our community
community can help you guys.
Shenna Hayden (00:55):
That's amazing.
Reece Stanley (00:56):
Yeah.
So before we dive into what'sgoing on right here in the
valley, we'd love to learn moreabout you and um what brought
you into the Grand Junction areaand a little bit about your
background.
Shenna Hayden (01:07):
Absolutely.
Um, well, I've I've been withthe museums of Western Colorado
for a little over a year and ahalf now.
And I've been in museums myentire career, um, which has
been really exciting and hastaken me on lots of fun
adventures.
I am originally from SouthTexas and uh ranch kid, grew up
(01:31):
in the middle of nowhere on theback of a horse.
So um going into museum workwas was really exciting and led
me to explore many things and uhstarted my career at the Whitty
Museum in San Antonio.
Um I ended my time there as uhdirector of public programs.
(01:54):
Um took took a break.
My husband is a singer andsongwriter, so we went on tour
with him, it was a lot of fun.
We traveled around about 60,000miles in an RV on tour with him
with our uh at the time he wasfour.
Um it was very exciting.
We had a blast.
Reece Stanley (02:14):
Yeah.
Shenna Hayden (02:15):
Uh, but then really wanted to get back into
the museum world.
So we moved to WashingtonState, where I was an assistant
director at the hands-onchildren's museum in Olympia,
Washington.
And that's where we were whenCOVID happened.
So learned a lot aboutpivoting.
Reece Stanley (02:33):
Yeah.
Shenna Hayden (02:34):
How to rethink what you're already doing.
Um, but we our our museum didreally well through COVID, which
was um a blessing.
Many museums did not do aswell.
There were lots of children'smuseums who ended up closing
their doors permanently, uh,which was really sad and really
hard to watch.
(02:55):
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, we we had a great leaderuh there, and so you know, we
learned a lot and was excitedto, you know, look for an
opportunity uh to advance mycareer, but also in Colorado
specifically, because my parentsretired here in not in Grand
(03:17):
Junction, but they're they're inWestcliff.
And uh they just love Coloradoand we love coming down here all
the time, and we've spent somuch time visiting and
vacationing in Colorado.
So it was a really easy placeto move to.
Yeah.
So here I am.
That's wonderful.
That's wonderful.
Reece Stanley (03:36):
Well, that that is uh a lot of experience packed
in and in kind of short timeframe, really.
Like getting to get to see howthings operate in Washington and
and Texas.
That's um pretty special thatyou bring that experience and
expertise here to the GrandValley.
Shenna Hayden (03:54):
So yeah, thanks.
Yeah, we I was really excitedto be chosen for this
opportunity.
And I think one of the thingsthat the board was really
excited about was that, youknow, expertise that I have in
informal education, you know,with public programs, as well as
um hands-on museum exhibits andgetting kids more involved and
(04:16):
getting our families uh moreexcited about learning together.
Um and you know, that's whatwe're trying to bring to the
museums, yeah.
Reece Stanley (04:27):
Well, that's great.
And and so when we talk aboutmuseums of western Colorado,
it's made up of three differentmuseums, correct?
Shenna Hayden (04:35):
Yes, that's correct.
Reece Stanley (04:36):
Could you tell us a little bit about each of
those?
Shenna Hayden (04:38):
Yes, absolutely.
So uh we are Museum of theWest, which is located in
downtown Grand Junction on 4thand Ute.
Uh, and we have DinosaurJourney, which is in Fruta, and
Cross Orchards, which is in likethe Fruit Vale area.
Um, and all three are amazingplaces to be.
(04:58):
They're very exciting, but havevery specialized um content, I
guess.
So uh Museum of the West isreally focused around our
history in the Grand Valley andthe Colorado Plateau.
So we're looking at, you know,history uh with the Ute and the
Mountain Men and transportationand trains, and we're looking
(05:21):
into mining, and um we're reallywanting to explore uh further
the agricultural story becausethat's a huge part of where we
live.
Like this is a we have tons ofagritourism here, which is
really exciting and wonderful.
Um, but in the museum, we don'treally go into too much depth
(05:43):
about that.
And that's something that we'relooking forward to to adding to
our story.
Um, dinosaur journey isobviously all dinosaurs about
that, you know, Colorado deeptime, like how far back do we
go?
And you know, what was it likehere millions of years ago?
What dinosaurs were found?
We're really lucky in that wehave our own dig program.
(06:07):
So all summer long, people cancome and go on dinosaur digs
with us, dig up real dinosaurfossils.
Uh, they go into the museum,they're studied, so you
unfortunately don't get to takeanything home, but we do have a
few trips where you can comewith us and and find stuff to
take home.
But um, those dinosaurs areused for research, and they get
(06:29):
put into papers, and otheruniversities and other
paleontologists come out andstudy them.
Um, so we are a real workingresearch laboratory out there,
which is really fun as well.
Reece Stanley (06:42):
Yeah, that's amazing.
So, how far do you guys have totravel to go to these different
dig sites?
Shenna Hayden (06:47):
Oh, not far at all.
This super close.
Yeah, we go um to RabbitValley, okay.
Um, which is just it's not toofar west of Fruta.
Um, really easy to get to.
It's not a crazy hike oranything.
It's it's really accessible formost people.
So yeah.
Reece Stanley (07:07):
Yeah.
We've we've gone out there acouple of times and ended the
little loop that you get to seethe fossils and different
things.
Yeah, was that fun?
Yeah, yeah, it's pretty cool.
That's great.
So, okay, and um looking atcross orchards, tell us tell us
more about that facility.
Shenna Hayden (07:23):
Yeah, so cross orchards is is really special
and it's one of my favoritesites um because we do explore
that agriculture story uh indepth because um it is on the
historical register, so it is aprotected property.
We um have the orchard there,so it used to be um a couple
(07:47):
hundred acres of apple trees, ifyou can imagine that now, like
driving down Patterson and it'sjust houses, you know,
everywhere.
Um, but that used to be anorchard.
Okay.
And the gentleman who um ranthat originally in the early
1900s was and was not from here.
He was like, Oh, we're gonnamake money in the apple
(08:08):
business.
And he was from like theNortheast, yeah.
Yeah, and you know, they didgreat for a long time until um I
it was um Matt Darling, who'sour curator out there, is gonna
hear this and get on to me, I'msure.
Um, but I think it was thecoddling moth that kind of ended
(08:29):
up uh decimating a lot of thecrops.
And I'm sorry, Matt, if I gotthat wrong, but um so a lot of
the tree they lost a lot of theoriginal trees, and so when it
was replanted, it was muchsmaller.
So when you go out there now,and then you know, the orchard
changed hands and shrunk andshrunk and shrunk, and right,
you know, now it's we've got 14acres.
(08:50):
Um, it's still an absolutelybeautiful place, thanks to our
volunteers.
So just to go out there for awalk is it's very restful.
Like it's you can reconnectwith nature, you're you're in
the middle of town, but it'seasy to let all of that melt
away and you know, enjoy thetrees and the barn.
(09:12):
There, the barn is gorgeous,it's huge.
And it is the old packing shed,so it's where they would come
out, all the apples would getloaded into the barn, and then
the women would be packing thesecrates.
And if you go out to Palisade,actually, and um check out their
uh his the his PalisadeHistorical Society has a small
little museum.
(09:33):
Okay, they have videos um andsome stuff that shows the women
packing peaches.
I mean, they did it the sameway for the apples, so it it
goes either way.
But the speed at which theypack these crates was so
impressive, like just going 90to nothing.
Yeah, and it was it's soamazing.
And then you get to try it, seeif you can pack as fast.
(09:56):
And you can't, no, nobody can.
No, that was it's a learnedskill.
That is a skill that we do notcurrently have anymore.
But funny, yeah.
Yeah, it's just it's a lot offun to go out there.
We've been doing a lot of uhprograms out there over the
summer.
We have a farmers market umthat's on Saturday mornings.
It's very well attended.
This was the greatest yearwe've had, you know, in and
(10:18):
that's open to the public.
Open to the public.
Reece Stanley (10:20):
Not no admission required, you can just go to the
market.
Shenna Hayden (10:24):
Yeah, you can just come to the market for
free.
We try to encourage everyone toalso buy admission and go in
and check out the rest of theproperty.
Um, just because I mean, you'reout there, it's it's a great
opportunity to to check it allout.
Reece Stanley (10:37):
Awesome.
Well, my uh my son just did hisfield trip to Cross Orchards
last week.
And so I I don't know what kindof moth, but he did tell me
that a moth killed all thetrees.
So he was he was very impressedby the moth.
Shenna Hayden (10:52):
He was very, yeah, a moth.
How does a moth do that?
It starts off as the littlegreen worm.
Right.
Reece Stanley (10:59):
Yeah, exactly.
Shenna Hayden (11:00):
I love that.
Reece Stanley (11:01):
Yeah, he he had a great time.
He it was very educational.
He liked all the different uhthings you could explore, and
yeah, they it was great.
The kids enjoyed it.
Shenna Hayden (11:11):
Did he get to to see the washing, like how to
wash clothes and stuff?
Yeah.
That's always it's it's funnyto me, it you know, funny, not
funny, um, how fascinated someof the kids get with the washing
of the clothes.
Right.
And they'll want to stay atthat station and be like, no,
no, no, I want to wash clothes.
I want to wash the clothes.
Reece Stanley (11:32):
We might have to rethink how we do things at home
and get some extra help.
Shenna Hayden (11:36):
Get some washboards and a bucket, you
know.
Yeah, exactly.
Entertainment for hours.
Reece Stanley (11:41):
Uh-huh.
Exactly.
Well, that's wonderful.
I I'm curious with each of thelocations, what are what are
some of the challenges that youguys are facing right now?
Um, what are some of the goalsthat you guys have set for each
of the different facilities?
And kind of what is what does2026 look like for you guys?
Shenna Hayden (11:59):
That's a great, very big question.
Lots of, yeah, multi-layered.
So yeah.
Um well, you know, our ourbiggest challenge that we are
facing and currently workingwith, you know, the sit city
officials to figure out what howwe can solve some of these
(12:21):
challenges is, you know, we havethree sites.
We're spread out.
That's it's difficult forstaffing, it's difficult on our
budget.
You know, we have the budget ofone museum and we're really
running three, um, is what thatyou know really comes down to.
And underscoring that, it's umeverything they're all aging
(12:44):
buildings.
And there's lots of grants outthere, and we work towards you
know getting some of those.
And you know, this year was areally weird year for grants
just across the board for allmuseums across the country.
You know, everybody was hitreally hard with things um
shutting down and beingdiscontinued, and then um a lot
(13:04):
of funding streams dried up, andit also impacted philanthropy
across the board.
And, you know, we've we've seena drop in in giving and a
change in the giving pattern.
Uh, so that was something that,you know, none of us had a
crystal ball.
We couldn't see that comingthis year.
Um, and we've been able topivot and figure out like, okay,
(13:27):
well, what else can we do?
How can we make this work?
And so next year um we will behosting a community roundtable
in January.
We want to get some people uharound the table and talk about
what is it that we really wantto do well?
Like, what are we doing well?
And what is the story we wantto tell?
(13:48):
Because really that's that's atthe heart of what our mission
is.
Like, we want to inspirelearning and we want to focus
that on the Colorado Plateau.
So we've kind of started takingsteps to figure out like, what
is if we can figure out whatthat story is and what is at the
(14:09):
heart of what we're telling?
Like, are we starting with thatColorado deep time and just
taking that on a journey all theway through, you know, current
day?
Um, are we do we really want todo traveling exhibits?
And I think the answer isprobably yes on that one.
But, you know, are we what typeof programming are we wanting
(14:29):
to offer?
Like we next year we're gonnado camps again, which we used to
do a long time ago.
Um, and then you know, we justhaven't had the staffing for it
and you know, all kinds ofthings.
But um, we're gonna startbringing these things back so
that we can reconnect with thecommunity in a meaningful way
that means something to them.
(14:50):
Um, most of our visitation istourists, which is fantastic
because you know that brings ina whole other level of you know
into the economy that you knowwe wouldn't be doing otherwise.
So that's great, but we'rehere, we're a resource for our
community first and foremost.
(15:11):
And like, how do we how do wereconnect in a way that is
meaningful?
So I think we're gonna we'regonna start there in January.
Yeah, that's great.
And figure out like, okay, whatis what is really resonating
with with our locals and what dothey want to see when they take
an out-of-towner to the museum?
Like what makes you walk in thedoors and be like, oh, I'm so
(15:32):
proud to be from the GrandValley and in Western Colorado.
Um so after you know, we figurethat out, then I think that's
gonna help us inform some nextsteps and um we're ready to
start a big revitalizationproject.
It's it's time to startthinking about those aging
(15:53):
buildings and you know, how canwe uh make the museum more
sustainable?
Next year's our 60thanniversary.
Oh, wow, okay, which we'rereally excited about.
Um so it's it's a great time tobe thinking about the next 60
years.
Like, how do we ensure thatwe're still here in the next 60
years for those kids?
Reece Stanley (16:15):
Absolutely.
So, with it being your 60thyear, are all locations year 60,
or did it start at a certainlocation and grow from there?
Shenna Hayden (16:25):
It started at a certain location and grew.
So um originally it was well,we had a couple of different
names, and it goes back evenfurther than 60 years.
So in the 1940s, uh they thegroup that wanted to start a
museum originally bought someAdobe bricks, and they were
like, We're gonna build a museumwith these bricks, and so they
(16:46):
got started, and it didn't cometogether completely, and the
building ended up being achurch.
Oh, wow.
Which the this is a fun tidbitthat hopefully someone will find
really fun, but yeah, the uhpreacher of that church um had a
son whose name was SteveScrockins, and he is on our
(17:08):
board.
Reece Stanley (17:09):
Oh, really?
Shenna Hayden (17:10):
Which is really like such a cool tie-in, I
think, for us.
Um, so he is we we laugh andjoke, and we're like, You're so
old, you've like been here sincethe very beginning.
You've been you've been a partof the museum since the start.
But um, he's just the sweetest,and you know, we and we enjoy
having his input on there.
(17:30):
But yeah, so we started westarted with those Adobe Bricks,
and then you know, things kindof broke up for a while and then
it came back together.
Um, so 60 years ago, theyrestarted the museum, and um it
was it was really just a hithistory based.
Okay, you know, and thendinosaurs were added a little
while later, and I think youknow, everyone might remember, I
(17:54):
think the the dinosaur part wason Main Street, and there used
to be the dinosaur footprints,oops, sorry, down the uh there
used to be dinosaur footprintsdown the sidewalk that took you
there.
And um then later on uh theywere fortunate enough to get the
building out in Fruta, whichused to be Dynamation, which was
(18:16):
a company that made animatronicdinosaurs.
So that company um kind of wentout of business and the museum
kind of absorbed it.
And so we had lots ofanimatronic dinosaurs, and then
we started, you know, collectingon top of that.
Um, and now, current day, youknow, we have all three sites in
the it was 1989 or 90, Ibelieve, um, when we got cross
(18:39):
orchards.
Okay.
Um, and that was, you know,thanks to, you know, a lot of
community members who cametogether to make that happen.
Uh because it was gonna bedeveloped, and you know, we were
like, we don't want to losethis piece of history.
It's a really big part of whowe are.
Um, so a way to go, everybody.
(18:59):
And that's the job is we'regonna come together.
Yeah, come together and make ithappen.
Um and we still have avolunteer with us um out at
Cross Orchards, and you know,she was there from the very
beginning, and you know, she'sin her late 80s, and it's just
amazing.
And she'll come out every timewe do an event and she bakes
(19:21):
cookies in the old bunkhouse.
And yeah, anyway, yeah.
So yeah, current date.
We also um we are a repositoryfor stuff that comes off of BLM
land.
So we work with the federalgovernment, and um, so anytime
anyone's doing an excavation,uh, all of that stuff has to
come to us, whether it'sarchaeology or paleontology.
(19:42):
Um we you know do our part tomake sure that that stuff is
cared for and it's available forresearch and stuff like that.
Reece Stanley (19:50):
Amazing.
Yeah, that's awesome.
It's a lot of fun.
Well, touching on volunteers,tell tell us more about you
know, how many volunteers do youguys have?
Is that um the main source ofyour your staffing?
And and I guess just expand onthat for us.
Shenna Hayden (20:09):
Yeah, absolutely.
Um, we could not do much ofanything without our volunteers.
They're really the heart andsoul of our organization.
We have about a hundred of themright now, um, which is
amazing.
We back in the day, we used tohave like 300 volunteers.
It was a massive um volunteerorganization, but um, over the
(20:34):
years, you know, that dwindled.
COVID took out a lot of peopleand uh not not permanently, like
they just stopped volunteering.
Let me clarify what just cameout of my mouth.
Whoa.
Um good clarification just toclarify, they're all okay.
Um no, they so when I came onboard, it had dwindled down to
(20:57):
about you know between 40 and 50people.
Oh wow, and so it was it was avery small group, and that was
one of the things that I wantedto make sure um we were able to
focus on.
And so I hired a volunteercoordinator who her name is
Janae Moon, and a lot of peopleknow that name around here
because it's Moon Farms, it'sthat family.
(21:18):
And uh Janae is just theloveliest person you'll ever
meet, and she has beeninstrumental in making sure that
those volunteers are cared forand that we're putting people in
the right positions and growingthat.
So, I mean, we have like ahundred volunteers now, so
that's a that's huge growth inin less than a year and very
(21:42):
impressive.
And so I mean, we have peoplewill be like, oh, well, I want
to come volunteer, what could Ido?
And it's literally like almostanything.
Like, what are you interestedin?
Right.
We probably have a job for that.
It's like the I've been joking,I don't know if you've seen the
home goods commercials orwhatever, where they're like,
Oh, do you have a disco unicornon a globe?
(22:04):
It's like, yeah, we have thathere.
Yeah, we have that here.
Reece Stanley (22:07):
Anything you want, anything you want.
Shenna Hayden (22:08):
What do you want to do?
Um, everyone loves dinosaurs,and um, that's always a fun
place to volunteer.
But you know, out at crossorchards, that's our our biggest
need right now.
So if you know anybody wants todrive a train for funsies, um,
come out and volunteer with us.
Reece Stanley (22:26):
Yeah, it sounds like there's harder stuff to do.
Driving a train would be prettyfun.
Shenna Hayden (22:30):
Driving the train is really fun.
You can also garden.
We have you know all kinds ofthings, lots of manual labor,
but you know, driving that trainwould be a lot of fun.
Yeah.
Um, we also have uh an early1920s um fire truck that we give
rides on.
So you can learn how to drivethat and take people on rides.
(22:53):
It's a lot of fun.
So um, and then at Museum ofthe West, that's where our
library and archive um exists.
And so we try to um get peoplewho are interested in things
like research and maybe theywant to help digitize our
collection.
I mean, that is an ongoingprocess that will take, you
(23:14):
know, I don't know, 20 moreyears.
Right.
We've so many things um in ourcollection.
So just digitizing justphotographs, which is the
easiest thing to do, um, takesan enormous amount of time, not
to mention like actual smallartifacts or large artifacts.
It's you know, you have to takepictures and then upload them
(23:36):
and do a description.
It's it's a lot of work andit's tedious, but there's a lot
of people out there who love tohelp do stuff like that.
Reece Stanley (23:45):
Oh, absolutely.
All the scrapbookers and ohyeah, yeah.
Shenna Hayden (23:49):
Genealogy.
If you love genealogy, boy, dowe have a deal for you.
Right.
Reece Stanley (23:55):
Right.
That you know, that makes mewonder is there with the
advancement of like technologyand everything in your space,
museum and everything, are youseeing a use for like AI and
different things to implement inwhat you guys do?
Shenna Hayden (24:10):
Yeah, that's a great question.
So museum people, I think, loveto talk about technology in
museums because there's amisconception that we're just an
old dusty place where oldthings are, and you go in and
you need to be quiet and youdon't touch anything.
And um, it's just not true.
And we try to stay up withrecent technology just as much
(24:34):
as everyone else.
I mean, the difficulty and thechallenge that we hit is, you
know, if you're if you'reputting a new technology into an
exhibit, chances are by thetime it's open, it's already old
tech.
So, you know, trying to figureout like what is that balance
and how do you create somethingthat continues to be meaningful
for, you know, at least fiveyears.
(24:55):
Um, so we have to look at thatvery carefully when we're
putting stuff into into theexhibits.
Um, as far as using AI, I mean,there there's a lot of there's
a lot of things around AI rightnow that can be tricky, but I am
a firm believer in the factthat the these are all tools and
(25:15):
there are ways to use them.
Um, we you know, we're notgonna go write our research
papers, but fair enough.
Definitely not that, but butthere are ways to use it.
And um we're actually workingwith um he's an engineer, a
retired engineer who's helpingus with some augmented reality
(25:38):
um programs, I guess.
Oh yeah.
I'm like, I'm not the techperson either.
So but it's very good.
I'm like, I love all of it andthink it's great, but um, yeah,
so he's he's helping us withsome augmented reality stuff
that we'll be doing at DinosaurJourney.
Okay.
And that's been, you know, kindof a process that we're taking a
little bit slower to make surethat we we get it right and that
(26:01):
we're not implementingsomething that will be because
augmented reality's been aroundfor a hot minute.
So um, but it's still reallyexciting and fun.
And there's uh, you know, waysto do it that that makes it
exciting for everybody.
Reece Stanley (26:15):
Yeah, I bet.
That's awesome.
Well, um looking forward at2026, what is what are some of
your goals for the facilities?
Shenna Hayden (26:24):
Yeah.
Um so like I mentioned, youknow, really working with the
community to figure out youknow, how how do we hone in on
our focus and and what is itthat we're gonna do um moving
forward for the next 60 years?
And I think that's gonna that'sgonna be a big part of of the
first six months of next year,uh, taking a look at what what
(26:48):
do we want to put all of ourweight behind.
Uh, we will be going into acapital campaign next year.
Um and and that's gonna helpus, you know, with with the with
our building issue, you know.
It might be that we need wantto combined two of our museums
so that we can focus ourselvesin a deeper way.
(27:11):
Um, and we're we're looking atwhat those, you know, what does
that imply?
And like how how could we makethat happen?
And how is it financiallystable?
Um, so these are all thingsthat we're looking at next year.
It feels like we've got a lotof variables up in the air.
Sure.
So, you know, as we'refinishing up budget, it's kind
of like, oh gosh, it's a littledaunting, but um we we want to
(27:36):
do things right and we want totake it slow and we want to make
sure we're talking to thecommunity um all while, you
know, still moving as fast as wecan, because you know, we want
to make sure that we're we'resustainable and that we're here
in the next 60 years.
Um, so making some of thosehard decisions um for the museum
(27:59):
is it can be daunting, but it'salso exciting.
Like I'm so excited.
Next year will be a whirlwind,I'm sure.
But I think getting to dig inand and talk with the community
about what is most meaningful tothem.
I mean, that's stuff that fillsyour cup up.
Reece Stanley (28:19):
So absolutely that connection.
Yeah.
Well, with the with the capitalcampaign in mind, do you guys
do you already have a goal setfor what you're hoping to
accomplish there?
Or are you still kind offinalizing that?
Shenna Hayden (28:31):
We're we're still kind of finalizing that.
I know that next year when westart, our our goal for next
year is gonna be a milliondollars, which is a lot, but I
think we can do it.
Yeah.
Um we plan to we're you know,and here I am talking public
publicly.
I mean, next year is gonna bemore of a silent year.
(28:53):
And I think in 2027, we'rereally gonna, you know, hit hit
it big with with capitalcampaign.
Okay.
Um, and the 2027 goal will bemuch larger, but you know, next
year we'll we're hoping to raisea million dollars just to kind
of kick it off of you know wherewe're heading.
And you know, when we havethose plans set, well, I'll come
(29:16):
back and tell you what thoseare.
I feel like I'm being a littlecryptid, but I mean it's okay.
Reece Stanley (29:24):
I'm doing that on purpose.
Yeah, that's okay.
That's okay.
Um, so tell us the main waysthat the museums generate their
revenue.
Shenna Hayden (29:32):
Yeah.
So museums have earned revenueand contributed revenue.
And earned revenue iseverything from admissions to
program fees, um, contracts, um,all those sorts of things.
Um, and then contributed incomeis donations, sponsorships, and
(29:55):
things like that.
And that's, you know it.
It depends on the organizationand the size of the organization
as to what that percentage isof those.
Um, you know, it could be a50-50 split for some
organizations.
Sometimes it's, you know,60-40.
Um, just depends on on how thatorganization is run.
(30:17):
Um, you know, right now we'rewe're kind of looking at a 60-40
split with you know, 60 beingour contributed income, uh,
which is fantastic.
That, you know, we still have alot of people who are, you
know, supporting us withdonations and sponsorships.
And um, we really want toincrease that because you, you
(30:38):
know, it's we're we have a smallstaff of 20 people that run
three organizations.
Yeah.
And and all of thosevolunteers.
Um, and you know, we still getto the end of the week and we're
like, gosh, there's so muchmore we want to do.
(30:59):
And the bandwidth for that isis just small right now.
So, you know, we we're lookingforward to next year and being
able to determine just just howwe can grow uh so that we can do
all the things we want to do.
Because, you know, we we we'vedone a few things, we've done a
lot of fun stuff this year, andyou know, taking a step back
(31:21):
with your staff and being like,okay, I know we want to do all
the fun things, right?
But everyone is really tiredand everyone's getting sick and
we're doing too much.
So um just you know, taking astep back and making sure that,
you know, as the organization'sleader that I'm taking care of
(31:43):
my people.
Like, I don't, you know, andI'm and sometimes I'm the worst
one because I'm like, yes, let'sdo it.
I'm I'm a yes person, 100%.
I'm always like, yes, and wecan do this.
But um, you know, we're we'rejust trying to be really mindful
over the next couple of yearsso that we can build in a
sustainable way, not onlyfinancially, but like as a team,
(32:07):
yeah, making sure that we'rekeep everybody taking care of
each other.
Reece Stanley (32:11):
Exactly.
Yeah, yeah, super important.
Well, switching gears just alittle bit, um, I would like to
talk more about the differentum, the different programs that
you guys have at the museums.
Yeah.
Um, I know on your website youhave several things at Dinosaur
Journey as well as Museum of theWest.
So tell us a little bit moreabout that, uh, those and how
(32:34):
the community can get involvedin those programs.
Shenna Hayden (32:36):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, I'm gonna start with ourour K through 12 education
programs because that is theeasiest way um to get involved
besides just volunteering.
Um, we create so when I came onboard, we we had self-guided
and guided field trips, which isgreat and it's fantastic, and
(32:59):
every museum has that.
But what we wanted to add wassomething that was a little more
directed towards our studentsand how do we help them out with
their curriculum?
So we've started make gettingrelationships with teachers
through D51.
Um, and Janae is a retiredteacher as well, so she's got
great connections, and um we'vebeen working really hard on
(33:22):
building up those programs for Kthrough 12.
So we started with the fourthgrader program, which fourth
grade is when you learn aboutColorado history.
And so it's called the ColoradoLife Ways Program, and that was
the first one we did.
And it's the kiddos get to comein, they do a tour, and then
they also get to come down intothe basement and they put on the
(33:43):
white gloves.
Nice, they get to touch theartifacts, we have tables set
out, and they they become thedetectives, they're like history
detectives.
Yeah, and they have certainthings set on the table and they
have to take a look at thoseand decide what is this telling
me?
So, you know, they have amountain man table, the Ute
(34:03):
table, and then they have atable that's about some of the
first settlers who came to theGrand Valley.
And they need to figure out howdid they live?
How are they getting food,water, shelter, how were their
basic needs met?
What on the table is telling usthat this group of people were
thriving, like living a greatlife and a full life.
(34:24):
Um, and that's always so funfor me to watch the light bulbs
go off.
Yeah.
Like holding something in theirhand makes it real.
It's no longer looking in abook at a picture that's like
teeny tiny and trying toimagine, you know, what was it
like uh to do any of thesethings?
(34:47):
It's so far removed.
Um, so this is that's been areally meaningful program.
And we created the Explorationfor All fund for it.
It was originally going to bejust for that fourth grade
program.
And then we quickly realizedthat no, no, no, this needs to
be for everything and foreveryone.
(35:08):
Um it's a basically ascholarship fund so that
students and teachers can cometo the museum for 100% free.
Reece Stanley (35:17):
Oh wow.
Shenna Hayden (35:18):
And so we raise the money and it covers their
program fee and museum fee, butthen we also mail a check to the
school for the bus.
Oh wow.
So, as you know, with kiddos,um, there's always reasons to
send five or ten dollars toschool for something.
And, you know, sometimes itmakes it unaccessible.
(35:40):
And we 100% believe likemuseums should be accessible
spaces for everybody, and everystudent in the Grand Valley and
beyond has a reason to come hereand learn with us.
And so this uh the Explorationfor All fund, which is what
we're, you know, it's part ofour annual giving here at the
(36:01):
end of the year.
Um, we really focus hard onraising money for that so that
we can make sure that everystudent has the opportunity to
attend the museum, regardless ofwhat's going on anywhere else.
And paying for those busesmeans a lot too, because the
kiddos have to pay for that too.
It's like two or three bucks akid, and um, you know, it just
(36:25):
uh it starts adding up.
Reece Stanley (36:26):
Oh, absolutely.
Yeah.
Do you know how many um kidshave benefited from the Explore
for All fund?
Shenna Hayden (36:34):
Yes.
So this year is really thefirst year that we've started
doing that, and we've been ableto serve, oh my gosh, it's it's
over, it's like over a thousandkids, which is amazing.
And we um our goal for nextyear was four thousand for 2026,
(36:56):
our goal is 4,000 kiddos.
But I think we're gonna hit itthis year.
Wow, that's awesome.
We um in summer we were like,okay, like we'll hit 3,000.
Like that's you know, that wasour goal for this year.
But we've had such a busy fallthat we're we're so close to
hitting 4,000 for this year.
(37:16):
And we're we've been, you know,just completely floored that we
did that.
And we're like, well, do we gofor another thousand for next
year?
Or like do we keep the samegoal?
I don't know.
But um, so it's really excitingjust to see those kids coming
into the museum.
Like that's I mean, that's myjam.
I'm so it makes me so happy tosee them.
Reece Stanley (37:39):
Oh, absolutely.
It creates a love for theircommunity, they're proud of
where they came from, learningabout it.
It's so beneficial.
Shenna Hayden (37:47):
Yeah, I loved going to museums as a kid, and
it was so meaningful.
And you know, anytime I talk topeople, I like to ask them,
what was your favorite fieldtrip growing up?
Because it's it always sayssomething about that person and
you know what stood out to them.
And um, so often there's thereis a connection to your later
(38:09):
career and something that yousaw in a field trip or some type
of experience like a museum asa kid.
And it's all about make gettingthat spark for every kiddo.
So yeah, donations to theExploration for All fund is is
(38:29):
definitely an accessible way togo.
Um, you know, any any amount isgreat and goes a long way.
Reece Stanley (38:37):
Yeah.
Shenna Hayden (38:37):
Yeah.
Reece Stanley (38:38):
That's wonderful.
Well, congrats on meeting thatgoal.
Shenna Hayden (38:41):
Yeah, thanks.
Reece Stanley (38:42):
And yeah, I think you should raise it next year.
That's a great great idea.
Shenna Hayden (38:45):
Yeah, yeah, we will.
Let's say that's awesome.
5,000.
Reece Stanley (38:48):
There you go.
I love it.
Shenna Hayden (38:49):
It's gonna scare our team.
They're gonna be like, oh mygod, all the kids.
Reece Stanley (38:54):
So many kids.
That's incredible.
Shenna Hayden (38:56):
We do trips and tours, so you can come and go on
a on a tour with us and umcheck it out and spend some time
with the curators.
Sometimes it's me and avolunteer, and we'll do fun
tours just around the local areabecause that's where our
expertise is.
So that's what we're trying tofocus on.
(39:17):
Um, and then other programslike um Dino Day during the
summer, which is a really funfamily day.
Come out to Dinosaur Journey.
You get to do lots of funhands-on activities.
Um, right now we're gettingready to do Christmas at Cross
Orchards.
That'll be on December 13th.
So that's gonna be anotherfamily day style activity.
(39:38):
Bring your family out.
We'll have lots of uh hands-onactivities and hot cocoa, you'll
get to meet Santa, ride thetrain.
Um, and then uh oh, November30th, which is um it's Museum
Store Sunday.
Okay.
And that's something thathappens across the country at
(39:59):
all museums.
We all try to celebrate.
So it's like right afterthere's Thanksgiving, and they
have Black Friday and um SmallBusiness Saturday, and then
Museum Store Sunday.
So we participate both Saturdayand Sunday.
But Sunday we'll have Santa outat Dinosaur Journey and picking
Peggy Malone, who is a localhero and star.
Yeah.
(40:19):
Um, she'll be coming out anddoing some sing-alongs with the
kiddos while they get to seeSanta amongst the dinosaurs,
which is so fun.
Yeah.
So um, I know Santa's veryexcited to come see us.
Reece Stanley (40:34):
Always.
Shenna Hayden (40:34):
Um yeah, so just fun stuff like that.
I mean, check out the websiteand follow us on social media.
Um, we're always trying to keepup to date, or sometimes we'll
share what other people aredoing too, if it's you know part
of our mission or close toclose to our hearts as well.
Reece Stanley (40:53):
Awesome.
Shenna Hayden (40:54):
Yeah, awesome.
Reece Stanley (40:54):
Well, you mentioned K through 12
involvement.
Do you guys have any sort ofrelationship with the university
that you guys do anything intheir programs?
Shenna Hayden (41:03):
Um we do we do work closely with CMU on lots of
things.
We have tons of interns thatactually come from CMU, uh,
which is really exciting.
And we've been working onstrengthening that relationship.
Uh, we just recently uh met andstarted working with one of the
new education professors there,and we're building that
(41:26):
relationship and what that couldlook like in the future.
Uh we actually just did alittle mini exhibit in the
education department at CMU tohonor their 100th anniversary.
Uh so that was really exciting.
We um our director ofpaleontology teaches at CMU.
Okay.
We've been exploring how toexpand those offerings.
(41:49):
And, you know, maybe there'smore ways to get some of our
staff involved in teaching.
Um we yeah, I mean, it's it's anever-ending list of ways we
want to partner with CMU, andthey're such good stewards, and
they are always like, Yeah,let's figure it out.
Yeah, let's go.
(42:09):
Which is great.
Reece Stanley (42:11):
Awesome.
Well, I want to make sure tohonor your time.
I really appreciate you comingand speaking with us and telling
us all about uh the museums andhow to get involved.
Um, so if somebody does want tovolunteer or donate, how how
can they reach out and do that?
Shenna Hayden (42:28):
Yeah, I definitely start with a website,
um, museumsofwesternco.org ormowc.co um will get you there.
Um and there's a link tovolunteer.
So just click on that, andthere's a short little form, and
that'll get you in touch withuh Janae, and then we find the
(42:51):
right place for you to donate.
There's a link on our websiteright now for donations.
Um, we're also a part of GrandValley Gives and Colorado Gives
and Giving Tuesdays, so there'sgoing to be a lot of
opportunities coming up onsocial media to give.
Um coming in just to a museum,you can give any one of the
(43:13):
locations.
Um, and you know, if ifsomething that I I've said
sounds exciting to anybody, likeand you want to hear more, or
you want to do abehind-the-scenes tour, I am
more than happy to do that andand have those conversations
with people.
Um, one of my favorite thingsto do is to do behind the scenes
(43:34):
tours at Museum of the West,because I get to show off some
of my favorite things.
And it's really fun.
Um, and it it really gives youa different view of the museums
because you know, we've got like5% of everything on display.
There's so much more to see.
Yes, okay.
There's a lot back there.
Reece Stanley (43:54):
Yeah, no kidding.
Shenna Hayden (43:55):
And people are like, oh, I had no idea.
Reece Stanley (43:58):
So that I guess makes me wonder how do you
decide what you do display andum how often do you guys swap
out exhibits and everything?
Shenna Hayden (44:06):
Yeah, that's a that's a great question.
So in most museums, you'regonna be switching out um
permanent exhibits less often,like every five years, but you
still want to rotate thingsbecause it's protecting the
actual collection.
Um, so having stuff out forreally long periods of time is
not great on those objects.
(44:28):
So we do want to get into thehabit of rotating things a
little more often.
Um, and right now it's beenreally slow going because one,
you know, what we don't want todo is just start doing stuff
willy-nilly just to just tochange it.
Um, we want to be mindful inwhat we're doing.
So those, you know, meetingsnext year with the community to
(44:50):
talk about what is the storywe're trying to tell and what do
we really want to do is reallyimportant and it's gonna inform
you know what gets to come outnext.
But but next year with our 60thanniversary, we're gonna do an
exhibit that will have all kindsof fun stuff that hasn't been
out for people to see in a longtime.
Oh, cool.
So yeah, cool.
(45:10):
And will that be at alllocations or it will just be at
Museum of the West in our wehave a the Grand Junction Lions
Club traveling exhibit gallery,which we're very proud to have.
Um, it's about 2,000 squarefeet, and so that will be full
of our 60th anniversary exhibit.
Reece Stanley (45:27):
Awesome.
Yeah, well, thank you so much,Shenna.
And is it is there anythingelse that you want to touch on
before we go?
Shenna Hayden (45:34):
I think we did a good job.
Reece Stanley (45:36):
All right.
Awesome.
Thank you for joining us.
Speaker (45:39):
Thank you for having me.
Thanks for listening.
This is Christi Reece signingout from the Full Circle
Podcast.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!