Art and Aging with the Museum

In a bright, sunlit room in the Vietnamese Community Center on South Federal, a diverse group of older adults dip their brushes into jars filled with cabbage-derived watercolor dyes. Moving their brushes, blooming colors spread out on a bookmark-shaped piece of paper, creating new shapes and significance with each stroke. In the Museum's pilot "Creative Aging" program, the participants each create their own meaning: Tho Huynh writes with the natural-dye colors “the sky is beautiful today” in Vietnamese, a message she said arose from within both her head and heart. 

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has always been dedicated to serving everyone in our community, including older adults. Now, we're taking it a step further by building more robust programming specifically designed to engage and inspire this growing demographic. 

Today, older adults make up over 16% of the United States population and are the fastest-growing demographic in the country. Jennifer Moss Logan, a former educator with the Museum, led the development of the Creative Aging pilot programs, tailoring the Museum’s adult programming to be memory-friendly, interactive and fun for older adults.  

“Adults are living longer and stronger and they’re looking for interesting and dynamic ways to connect. Older adults are seeking control and empowerment and we’re here to celebrate them as creative individuals,” said Moss Logan. “This is much more than just making macaroni necklaces. This is about having fun!” 

One of the Creative Aging test programs, "Remembering Apollo: When We Went to the Moon," took participants on a nostalgic journey back to July 19, 1969. This program allowed participants to reminisce about the Apollo 11 mission, try out NASA’s astronaut exercise equipment and even taste astronaut food. The program ended with a look at the future of space exploration, reminding the participants that the spirit of discovery is timeless. 

Another test program was "Wild Colors and Natural Dyes." This session, held at the Vietnamese Community Center, invited participants to explore the vibrant world of natural dyes, inspired by the Museum’s former temporary exhibition, “Wild Color.” After Museum educators explained the surprising colors found in nature, the older adults were invited to share their individual color memories, asking which colors remind them of their childhood and why. In the sessions, stories often brought smiles and laughter to the room: yellow sunflowers on the farm or purple and red sunsets on the way home from school.  

While Creative Aging programs at other institutions often focus on the arts, the same principles can be applied in a nature and science museum setting. By leveraging our strengths and collaborating with community organizations, we’re creating dynamic, skill-building, socially engaging programs unique to the Museum.  

This program is developing with each session and the program model will grow and change with everything we learn. Moving forward, the program and events page on dmns.org will keep the most up-to-date information and include the details of any upcoming opportunities.