Community Cycles volunteer Crystal Mitchell prepares a bike for the 2011 bike giveaway for kids. Mitchell is putting in hours in exchange for her own bike as part of Community Cycle's Earn-A-Bike program. Photo: Beth Bartel
By Marissa McNatt
This year, the League of American Bicyclists rated Boulder one of the top three bicycle-friendly communities in the U.S. Help Community Cycles keep the next generation of Boulderites using this sustainable mode of transport at their annual bike giveaway on Sunday.
As we enter into the depths of the holiday season, Boulder has temporarily slowed down on hosting environmental and science events. Instead of listing events this week, as we usually do at The Boulder Stand, we’ve written up a short list of destinations in Boulder, and its surrounds, that are well worth visiting over the weekend or during the holidays. From swimming with sharks to learning more about our solar system, there is plenty to do.
“Community Cycles’ 6th Annual Holiday Bike Giveaway,” hosted by Community Cycles. December 18.
What? Community Cycles hosts a kids’ holiday bike giveaway every year. The organization takes in donated bikes all year and, starting in early December, volunteer mechanics work to get the bikes ready to ride. Community Cycles reaches out to the community to let needy families know they can get a free bike for their kids for the holidays. To get one of the 300 refurbished bikes, the parent or guardian of a child aged ten and under must bring the child’s most recent report card or birth certificate. There are also 300 bike helmets available with the bikes.
Where? Boulder Indoor Cycling. Directions
Time? 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Cost? Free. Sponsor a child’s bike for $25 to help pay the fees necessary to clean up the bike
Website
Fiske Planetarium and Science Center
What? Visit the largest planetarium dome between Chicago and Los Angeles, which serves 4,000 undergraduates, nearly 30,000 K-12 students and the general public. Fiske Planetarium is transforming its lobby into Boulder’s newest interactive science museum with funding from private donors, NOAA and NASA. “Science on a Sphere,” developed by NOAA, is permanently displayed in the lobby showing Earth and other planetary bodies from the viewpoint of orbiting spacecraft. Download the fall 2011 schedule for the date and time of December shows.
Hours? 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (during regular academic year). 9 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (during academic winter break) Saturdays: usually open from 1:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Special holiday hours? Yes. Closed Friday, December 23 – Monday, December 26; Closed Saturday, December 30 – Monday, January 2.
Where? CU-Boulder Campus. Directions
Cost? Lobby exhibits: free and open to the public during office hours. Check for show pricing.
Website
National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
What? Set against the backdrop of Boulder’s Flatirons and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, NCAR advances the public’s knowledge of atmospheric and Earth system science. The research done at NCAR improves environmental quality and reduces the impacts of natural disasters, among other things. NCAR welcomes the public to its Visitors Center, which offers educational exhibits, a daily noon tour Monday through Friday, and a tour using one’s cell phone. Exhibits and tours highlight severe weather, climate change, space weather, supercomputing and scientific modeling. The Walter Orr Roberts Weather Trail and other scenic trails are accessible from the NCAR parking lot.
Hours? Mon – Fri, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Sat – Sun, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Special holiday hours? No, standard hours.
Where? NCAR Mesa Lab Visitor Center. Directions
Cost? Free
Website
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
What? Take a tour of NOAA’s David Skaggs Research Center and learn about solar storms that affect Earth, the local Weather Forecast Office that issues warnings for severe storms, and NOAA’s largest laboratory for weather and climate research. Also, check out the Science On a Sphere visualization.
The NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory pursues a broad and comprehensive understanding of the Earth system, knowledge that allows us to work toward a greater stewardship of the Earth.
Hours? Tours: Tues 1:00 p.m. (Show photo I.D.). Reservations required. Call: 303-497-3333
Special holiday hours? No, standard hours.
Where? David Skaggs Research Center, or NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL). Directions
Cost? Free
Website
Gates Planetarium: “Journey to the Stars.”
What? This planetarium show takes visitors through space and time to experience the life and death of the stars in our night sky, including our sun. New celestial mysteries and familiar stellar formations unfold a story that “connects us to all the stars.”
Hours? Show times: Mon – Thurs: 11:00 a.m. Fri-Sun,:11:00 a.m., 3:30 and 5:00 p.m.
Special holiday hours? Yes. Closed December 25. Between Dec 23 and Jan 5 there will be an extra 3:30 p.m. show time Monday through Thursday.
Where? Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Gates Planetarium. Directions
Cost? Adults, $5.00; Junior/Student, $4.00; Senior, $4.00
Website
“Swim With the Fish, Dive with the Fish, or Dive With the Sharks.”
What? Miss the water and aquatic life in landlocked Colorado? Sign up to “swim with the fish” at the Denver Downtown Aquarium and experience what it’s like to swim with a 400 pound Queensland Grouper, Moray Eels, red drums, nurse sharks and 400 other exotic underwater animals. To participate in “dive with the fish,” or “dive with the sharks,” you must hold and present a valid SCUBA certification card from a recognized agency. Signing up to “swim with the sharks,” you’ll see Sand Tiger sharks, Brown sharks, Zebra sharks, barracudas, Guitar Fish and Saw Fish, plus Sea Turtles.
Hours? Program is offered Saturday and Sunday, starting at 9:30 a.m. Call to make reservations: 303- 789-2450
Special holiday hours? No, standard hours.
Where? Denver’s Downtown Aquarium. Directions
Cost? $75 for swimming with the fish. $175 for diving with the fish, or the sharks.
Website
Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum.
What? This museum explores the history behind American mountaineering, educating visitors about why mountaineers climb, how they do it and how the activity has evolved over generations and around the world. The 3,000 square-foot exhibit is a joint venture of the Colorado Mountain Club, the American Alpine Club and the National Geographic Society.
Hours
Special holiday hours? Yes. Closed December 23rd – January 2nd
Where? Golden, Colo. Directions
Cost? Children under 12, $1.00; Adults, $5.00
Website
“Bird Shift: The Anthropogenic Ornithology of North America,” hosted by the CU Museum of Natural History.
(This is a recap of an event we posted the week of November 11, but we wanted to post a reminder, since the exhibit ends December 27, 2011).
What? How is bird activity and habitat affected by urbanization, human intervention and climate? Using science-informed, art-based strategies including photos, objects, videos, and more, to inspire public conversation, nationally recognized visual artist, educator, and “re-naturalist” Brian D. Collier hopes to inform and inspire public conversation. Collier’s exhibit “Bird Shift” was created in collaboration with Boulder-based scientists, birders, transportation specialists and others.
Where? CU Museum of Natural History. Map
Time? 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. M-F, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. weekends.
Special holiday hours? Yes. Closed Dec 23, Dec 25 – 26 and Jan 2
Cost? Free.
Website
