City: Boulder, CO

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (303) 492-1411

Description: CU-Boulder’s 600-acre campus is one of the nation’s most beautiful. The buildings are a visual symphony of red tile roofs and warm, native-stone walls that make the entire campus harmonize, and the landscaping is splendid. Norlin Quadrangle is the 3-block-long, tree-lined lawn next to Broadway. Nearby are the oldest buildings on campus, including Macky Auditorium, Old Main, Hale Science Building, and the Koenig Alumni Center. Kittredge Pond, near Fleming Law School, and Varsity Pond, just off the intersection of Broadway and College, are “water features” created decades before such amenities got a trendy name. The big old trees, quacking mallards, and basking turtles help time stand still—even among the achingly with-it students all around.For many, the main draw to the campus is the sports teams, and rabid fans might never get past Folsom Field or the Coors Events Center. Call (303) 492-8337 for information about Big 12 conference games, or see the Sports chapter for more information. For other folks, the campus is fun for exploring. Maps located throughout the campus pinpoint spots of interest, or call (303) 492-6301 for information about campus visits and tours. An hour-long information briefing followed by a one-hour tour is given at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Be sure to visit the University Memorial Center, known on campus as “the UMC,” at Euclid, just east of Broadway. The Glenn Miller Lounge and Ballroom are named after the CU jazz trombone player who popularized Big Band swing A short walk to the northeast is Norlin Library (303-492-8705; http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/norlin), with more than 10 million books, periodicals, manuscripts, government publications, and more—the biggest such collection in the state. The Colorado Centennial Foucault Pendulum (303-492-6952) is at Duane Physical Laboratory, inside Gamow Tower, just south of Gate 2 of Folsom Field. It might seem that the 40-meter pendulum changes direction during the day, but it actually stays steady while the earth rotates underneath it. (At the equator, it would swing the same direction all the time.)The domed Fiske Planetarium on Regent Drive is a campus landmark housing a great theater for star shows and featuring one of the finest stargazing machines in the world. Scientists use it to turn the celestial skies back so that they can compare ancient ruins to an ancient sky. Often, they discover important building features align with star patterns that occurred long ago. Regular visitors can enjoy laser light shows and talks—fun in those leaned-back chairs that coddle your neck while you’re staring upward. Star shows are normally scheduled on Friday evenings and some Tuesdays and Saturdays. Adult admission is $6.00, and children and seniors pay $3.50 for the evening shows; the fee includes admission to the adjacent Sommers-Bausch Observatory afterwards, weather permitting. You can get recorded information on the current week’s shows by calling (303) 492-5001. For more detailed information, call (303) 492-5002 or visit http://fiske.colorado.edu. At the observatory, the real sky, not a planetarium show, is occasionally open for public viewing. Astronomy students man the telescopes during a special heavenly show, like a spectacular comet, meteor shower, or eclipse; but in recent years, clouds have obscured the most heralded events.The Herbarium (303-492-3216) houses nearly a half-million dried plant specimens from Colorado and around the world. It is located in the Claire Small building and is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday. Hours are curtailed over the summer break.The Heritage Center, a CU-Boulder museum (303-492-6329; www.cualum.org/heritage), is in Old Main, which housed the whole university from 1876 through 1884. This authentic Victorian landmark has been renovated, and the beautiful chapel is an especially cozy area for small performances. The Heritage Center’s top floor is noteworthy for its “Space Room” honoring CU-Boulder’s 13 astronauts, and for its sensational collection of sports memorabilia. The distinguished alumni gallery in the center includes retired Supreme Court Justice Byron White, Miss America 1958 Marilyn Van Derbur-Atler, Robert Redford (granted an honorary degree), M*A*S*H actor Larry Linville, and the 1989 Nobel Prize won by CU-Boulder chemist Tom Cech. An architectural gallery shows the original models for CU, showing its rural Italian design. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Special tours can be arranged, and it’s open before and after home football games. Admission is free.University of Colorado Museum, at Broadway and 15th Street in the Henderson Building (303-492-6892; http://cumuseum.colorado.edu) displays dinosaur fossils that include a triceratops head and a pterodactyl, taxidermy specimens, and touchable items for kids, including a sea turtle shell you can try on for size. Established in 1902, the museum has grown to include a diversity of displays, notably in paleontology, anthropology, and botany. The museum hosts traveling exhibits as well. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. There are occasionally events that interfere with public hours, so call ahead. Admission is free but donations are appreciated.For academic information about CU-Boulder, check the Child Care and Education chapter.