12 W E S T W O R D F a l l A r t s G u i d e 2 0 2 5 westword.com A Penny for Your Thoughts continued from page 10 and dinosaur bones to gems and minerals and a state-of-the-art planetarium. “In 2024 alone, SCFD funding allowed us to serve more than 2 million people, with more than two-thirds of those at- tendees benefiting from free or reduced access,” says DMNS Vice President of Strategic Partnerships Jacqueline Altreuter. “That means over 1.1 million people could experience our exhibitions, programs and resources without the barrier of cost.” The SCFD enabled the DMNS to host more than a dozen Free Days and provide reduced-cost access for the thousands of visitors who receive SNAP benefits. Altreuter adds that the funding allows the museum to partner with smaller organizations, schools and community groups to help strengthen the metro area’s entire cultural ecosystem. “This support underscores our role as a re- gional resource, working to make nature and science accessible, inspiring and relevant to everyone,” Altreuter says. SCFD also supported the museum’s partnership with Denver Parks & Rec- reation to create City Park Nature Play, a free, four-acre immersive outdoor space that opened last year for accessible, multi-generational and multi-sensory play and exploration of Colorado’s out- door environments. Meanwhile, the DMNS’s East Wing Project, a $20 million renovation that will update the museum’s historic theater, lobby and plaza, is underway. The area is closed for now, but expected to reopen next summer. The Coors Hall of Gems & Minerals will also soon be getting a facelift. The popular exhibit that has been a mainstay at DMNS since the ‘70s will close down early next year and reopen in 2027 with a hands-on and immersive redesign based on community feedback. There will be more rocks, too. “None of this would be possible without the continued commitment of SCFD and the voters who make it a reality,” Altreuter says. Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance In 2024, the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance received $12,375,200 in SCFD funding and it expects a similar total this year, according to DZCA President & CEO Bert Vescolani. In addition to connecting the metro community with nature and wildlife from around the world at its eighty-acre campus near City Park, DZCA also spends about $2 million a year on field conservation projects, half in Colorado and half inter- nationally. “SCFD funding enables DZCA to be a top-ranked zoo nationally by supporting all aspects of our operations,” Vescolani says. “It helps us provide world-class animal care; programs that engage a wide range of audiences; and access programs that ensure 25 percent of our guests can access DZCA for free or a discounted rate through SCFD Free Days and SNAP/ EBT.” He adds that staffing costs account for 70 percent of the DZCA’s operating expenses, and SCFD’s support means the zoo can offer more immersive habi- tats, like Down Under and Wallaby Way, where guests can walk the wallaby habitat with staff engagement. This fall, visit the DZCA’s four new lion cubs, an addition that comes shortly after the zoo’s announcement of a new field conservation program and partnership in Africa aimed at helping protect the species in Uganda. “SCFD has been foundational in sup- porting DZCA and all of our amazing organizations across the region,” Vescol- ani says. “We’re grateful to be part of a community that supports arts, culture and science.”
