I arrived in Denver yesterday for the annual American Association of Museums conference. Each year the conference is in a different place, last year it was in Chicago and the next year it will be in Philadelphia. When I got in yesterday it was snowing, which I wasn’t expecting at all (I was wearing sandals when I arrived.) Luckily the weather is supposed to warm up considerably later in the week. After arriving and taking a shuttle to the hotel I spend the afternoon settling in, getting acquainted with the area (like finding a grocery store to stock my mini fridge) and using the hotel gym. I had dinner with my friend David, followed up with drinks with some of his friends at a trendy seeming bar.

My room is on the 26th floor of the 37-floor building and has the aesthetic of a nice but corporate hotel:



Today I woke up early (6:30), went to the gym, and ate snacks I had bought at the grocery store for breakfast. Registration began at 9:00 at which point I picked up the official conference bag, nametag holder, and complete schedule. My morning was split between planning what workshops I was most interested in and perusing the AAM bookstore. I spent the early afternoon going to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which was recently built by the very in the moment architect David Adjaye.

Here is the outside of the building:

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A room used for screening movies:

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An outdoor garden:



Afterwards I went to the Denver Art Museum, which was very crowded due to special family/ children festivities. The Denver Art Museum recently added a dramatic huge new building designed by the architect Daniel Libeskind. Outside there were dance performances and food stands selling delicious food. Inside was packed, so I only glanced around before deciding to come back another day.


The new addition and the festivities:



My amazing $6 lunch:



A horse on a chair:




In the afternoon I went to my first workshop Visitor Studies 101, which was about evaluation techniques for evaluating marketing, exhibits, and programs. I followed up the workshop with some networking at the First Time Attendees Reception.