Longmont Museum

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A center for culture in Northern Colorado where people of all ages explore history, experience art, and discover new ideas through dynamic programs, exhibitions, and events. Legal disclaimer
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We are kicking off our $3 Kid’s Summer Film Series next Tuesday, June 2 at 10 am with a screening of “The Incredibles” (...
05/30/2026

We are kicking off our $3 Kid’s Summer Film Series next Tuesday, June 2 at 10 am with a screening of “The Incredibles” (2004, PG)!

Known to the world as superheroes Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, Bob Parr and his wife Helen were among the world's greatest crime fighters, saving lives and battling evil on a daily basis. Fifteen years later, they have been forced to adopt civilian identities and retreat to the suburbs to live "normal" lives with their kids. Itching to get back into action, Bob gets his chance when a mysterious communication summons him to a remote island for a top-secret assignment.

Learn more and buy tickets online at longmontmuseum.org or by calling 303-651-8374.

Through the 1980s, more and more technology was introduced into Longmont schools, and high-tech businesses were thriving...
05/28/2026

Through the 1980s, more and more technology was introduced into Longmont schools, and high-tech businesses were thriving in Longmont. In a 1992 Times-Call photo, students enjoyed the new computers in the computer lab at Loma Linda Elementary School, which merged with Heritage Middle School to become Timberline K-8 in 2013.

Technology and innovation continued to be a hallmark of Longmont and our schools. In 2012, the St. Vrain Valley School District was awarded the Race to the Top Grant, providing an additional $16.6 million to implement STEM integration and personalized learning approaches. As part of this grant, the Innovation Center was created, opening in 2018, to provide professional STEM experiences to students through industry partnerships and paid work for students. Today, focus areas at the Innovation Center include aeronautics, artificial intelligence, bioscience, cyber security, game development, video arts, robotics and many more.

You may have seen the work of the students with the Innovation Center of St Vrain Valley School District Drone Performance Team. Beginning in 2024 they have presented original drone light shows as part of the City of Longmont’s July 4 celebrations. Piloted by students, each holding a commercial drone pilot license and following all FAA regulations, their inaugural 15-minute show featured hundreds of drones and was created by students specifically for Longmont’s celebration.

Join us every Thursday for the rest of the year as we celebrate the triple anniversary of Longmont turning 155, Colorado turning 150, and America turning 250. We will share stories and photos on specific monthly themes tied to the history of the city we call home. Next month, we’ll shift our focus to water and how it’s shaped our community.

Visit LongmontColorado.gov/CO150 and check back every Thursday to learn more.

Captions:

Image 1: Students enjoy computer class at Loma Linda Elementary School. Published in the Times-Call on February 2, 1992 (Staff photographer / Longmont Times Call)

Image 2: 2026 Photo of the Saint Vrain Valley School District Innovation Center at 33 Quail Road in Longmont.

Image 3: Students with the Innovation Center of St Vrain Valley School District Drone Performance Team prepare for their 2024 July 4 drone show.

Image 4: Community members enjoy a July 4, 2025 drone performance created by students with the Innovation Center of St Vrain Valley School District Drone Performance Team.

The $3 Summer Kids’ Film Series is back at the Longmont Museum! From nostalgic classicsto recent blockbusters, enjoy a T...
05/28/2026

The $3 Summer Kids’ Film Series is back at the Longmont Museum! From nostalgic classicsto recent blockbusters, enjoy a Tuesday morning movie the whole family can enjoy. Our Summer Kids Film Series features seven imaginative films—from
dazzling animation adventures to heartwarming family favorites, celebrating creativity, friendship and the courage to be yourself.

Movie tickets are $3 or $5 for a movie ticket + a popcorn and juice box. Admission is free for babies age 1 and under. Buy tickets ahead of time as these films may sell out!

Explore the films and buy tickets online at https://longmontcolorado.gov/museum/events-performances/summer-kids-film-series/ or by calling 303-651-8374.





Our free Summer Concert Series is back at in the Museum’s beautiful Stewart Family Courtyard Thursday nights at 7 pm Jun...
05/26/2026

Our free Summer Concert Series is back at in the Museum’s beautiful Stewart Family Courtyard Thursday nights at 7 pm June 25 - July 30! Stretch out and enjoy some tunes from up-and-coming local bands and icons of Colorado’s music scene as the sun sets over Longs Peak. Lawn chairs and picnics are welcome, kids and families, too! Food and drink available for purchase (no outside alcohol allowed).

Museum members receive priority seating at 6 pm; general public at 6:30 pm.

Check out our Summer Concert lineup and learn more online at https://longmontcolorado.gov/museum/events-performances/summer-concert-series/ or by calling 303-651-8374.

05/21/2026

Colorado 150 – High-Tech Longmont

The Longmont Museum's historic Collections Center, located about five miles east of the Museum, is home to more than 17,000 three-dimensional objects including textiles, toys, tools and technology. Many shelves are dedicated to historic typewriters and computers, a few of which are IBM models from the 1980s.

The economy of Longmont changed when IBM was built between Boulder and Longmont, with a 640-acre campus that employed 5,000 people at its height. It spurred other tech companies to come to the area for decades to come.

Do you or did you work for a technology company based in Longmont? We are always looking for donations of objects related to the area’s employers.

Join us every Thursday for the rest of the year as we celebrate the triple anniversary of Longmont turning 155, Colorado turning 150, and America turning 250. We will share stories and photos on specific monthly themes tied to the history of the city we call home. This month, we’re shining the spotlight on Longmont’s high-tech legacy. Visit LongmontColorado.gov/CO150 and check back every Thursday to learn more.

Explore our summer season! All your favorites are back, including weekly free outdoor concerts and the summer Kids' Film...
05/21/2026

Explore our summer season! All your favorites are back, including weekly free outdoor concerts and the summer Kids' Film Series on Tuesday mornings. Download the PDF of the summer program catalog: bit.ly/summer2026catalog or visit longmontmuseum.org to learn more.

As the 1950s ended, Longmont hadn’t grown as quickly as other communities like Boulder and Aurora. Large Federal buildin...
05/14/2026

As the 1950s ended, Longmont hadn’t grown as quickly as other communities like Boulder and Aurora. Large Federal building projects had, so far, passed Longmont by. This changed with a secret call from Clifford Halton, an engineer with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to Longmont City Council members in 1960. Clifford called to inform them that Longmont was among nine communities being considered for an air traffic control center.

That was all Council needed to hear to mobilize. They traveled to Los Angeles to meet with federal officials. They searched for a suitable site. They negotiated with the Chamber of Commerce to raise the money needed to buy (and then donate) the land. They even arranged to have the City extend its utility lines to the property, which then was way out in the countryside. The chosen property was John Stroh’s farm, just east of Hover on Hygiene Road (later renamed 17th Avenue). The speedy pace continued throughout the construction.

The Times-Call counted more than two thousand people at the dedication ceremony when the air traffic control center opened on June 23, 1962. FAA promotional material highlighted not only the technology and financial investment required, but also that the facility included a fallout shelter in case of a nuclear attack. The center had a significant positive impact on the city’s growing middle class, adding 185 highly trained air traffic controllers and 40 electronics technicians. It represented the beginning of Longmont’s technology boom.

Join us every Thursday for the rest of the year as we celebrate the triple anniversary of Longmont turning 155, Colorado turning 150, and America turning 250. We will share stories and photos on specific monthly themes tied to the history of the city we call home. This month, we’re shining the spotlight on Longmont’s high-tech legacy.

Visit LongmontColorado.gov/CO150 and check back every Thursday to learn more.

Captions:

Image 1: Exterior of the Denver Air Traffic Control Center in Longmont.

Image 2: Two Longmont engineers, Leroy Young and Charles Klarich, beginning the construction of the Air Traffic Control Center on 17th Ave. (Staff Photographer / Longmont Times Call)

Image 3: CDC Technician Bill Stevens repairs a Raytheon radar scope at the Air Traffic Control Center in 1982. (Photo by Whit Morrison)

Image 4: A man in seated in front of a computer terminal and a dot matrix printer in the Air Traffic Control Center. (Photo by Whit Morrison)

Do you have a teen 14+ years old looking for volunteer opportunities this summer? We are still looking for teen voluntee...
05/08/2026

Do you have a teen 14+ years old looking for volunteer opportunities this summer? We are still looking for teen volunteers for our summer camps!
Volunteers will earn 20+ hours of volunteer time a week, learn leadership skills, and have fun! More information and applications are available on our summer camp webpage.

Do you have a teen 14+ years old looking for volunteer opportunities this summer? We are still looking for teen voluntee...
05/08/2026

Do you have a teen 14+ years old looking for volunteer opportunities this summer? We are still looking for teen volunteers for our summer camps. Volunteers will earn 20+ hours of volunteer time a week, develop their leadership skills, and have fun!
More information and applications are available on our summer camp webpage.

Longmont’s reputation as a center for high technology began when the Federal Aviation Administration built an air traffi...
05/07/2026

Longmont’s reputation as a center for high technology began when the Federal Aviation Administration built an air traffic control center on 17th Avenue in 1962. But that reputation really took off on March 3, 1965, when IBM announced they would open a plant between Boulder and Longmont.

In response, the City of Boulder created a “flagpole annexation.” This legal term describes how cities make “non-contiguous” property part of their city: imagine a narrow strip of land (the pole) connecting to a distant piece of land (the flag). But Longmont was not fazed, and benefited greatly from the arrival of IBM workers, which soon numbered 3,500.

IBM also helped increase diversity in Boulder County, but not without growing pains. After a federal discrimination lawsuit was filed against the company in 1971, they rallied to recruit and promote both women and people of color to high-paying management and programming positions.

Former IBM employees founded Storage Technology (later StorageTek) in 1969, which grew to the largest employer in Boulder County by the 1980s, then hit bankruptcy, rebounded, and finally was sold. Another data storage company, Miniscribe, was founded in 1980 in the basement of a Longmont home. Pressure to achieve profitability eventually led to financial fraud and sale to another tech company, Maxtor. The successor to these and other data storage companies, Seagate, remains a leader in data storage.

Among the many biomedical and other high-tech companies in Longmont today are AMD, Intrado 911, McKesson/CoverMyMeds, Micron Technology and Honeybee Robotics, part of Blue Origin, the aerospace company owned by Jeff Besos.

Join us every Thursday for the rest of the year as we celebrate the triple anniversary of Longmont turning 155, Colorado turning 150, and America turning 250. We will share stories and photos on specific monthly themes tied to the history of the city we call home. This month, we’re shining the spotlight on Longmont’s high-tech legacy.

Visit LongmontColorado.gov/CO150 and check back every Thursday to learn more.

Image 1: FAA employee Lou Lombard shows a representative from Kensair Corp a control station at the Denver Air Traffic Control Center in Longmont.

Image 2: IBM’s Main plaza is shown in this aerial view of the front of the Administration building at IBM, circa 1969. (Photo by Leigh Wiener / Longmont Times-Call)

Image 3: A Miniscribe worker inspects a magnetic disk with an optical loupe. (Photo by Randy Kermoade / Longmont Times-Call)

Image 4: A 2015 photo of the exterior of the Seagate building at 389 Disc Drive in Longmont. (Photo by Richard Hackett / Longmont Times-Call)

Address

400 Quail Road
Longmont, CO
80501

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 9pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 1pm - 5pm

Telephone

+13036518374

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