7 Best Sights in Denver, Colorado

This is one of the finest museums of its kind in North America, with constantly changing hands-on exhibits that engage children up to about age 10 in discovery. A three-and-a-half-story climbing structure soars through the center of the museum, complete with a bridge and gondola, along with a water area featuring geysers, pumps, and a 30-gallon structure that replicates a toilet flushing. Also among the 16 indoor playscapes and an outdoor area are a teaching kitchen where kids can cook real food; an art studio staffed by artists in residence; a grocery store; a veterinary office; and Fire Station No. 1, a real fire hall with a pole and kitchen. One of the biggest attractions is the Center for the Young Child, a 3,700-square-foot playscape aimed at newborns and toddlers and their caregivers; or little ones can enter Bubbles Playscape, where science and soap collide in kid-made bubbles up to 6 feet long.

More than 300 artists contributed to this Denver variation on Santa Fe's psychedelic, immersive art experience in an even bigger space, here called Convergence Station. Four floors are packed with funky art installations, tunnels, platforms, and interactive pieces, with music and other sound accompaniments. The overall effect is a bit of a fever dream, with clever and humorous takes on everyday objects interspersed with video and storytelling through dioramas. Entry is by timed ticket only, but once you enter, you can stay as long as you'd like. All ages will want to spend a few hours here, but kids especially become transfixed by the sensory overload. It's open Sunday through Thursday from 10 am to 10 pm and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Adults-only nights and live music events are peppered throughout each month.

Denver's first firehouse was built in 1909 and now serves as a museum where original items of the trade are on view, including uniforms, nets, fire carts and trucks, bells, and switchboards. Artifacts and photos document the progression of firefighting machinery from horses and carriages in the early 1900s to the flashy red-and-white trucks of today.

On the north side of the South Platte across from Elitch Gardens, this is the only million-gallon aquarium between Chicago and the West Coast. It has four sections that show aquatic life in all its forms, from the seas to the river's headwaters in the Colorado mountains. The 250-seat Aquarium Restaurant surrounds a 50,000-gallon tank filled with sharks and fish. Other highlights include an expanded stingray touch pool, a gold-panning area, animatronic creatures, and an interactive shipwreck. The aquarium also has a lounge with a weeknight happy hour, and the truly adventurous can learn how to scuba dive or snorkel in the tanks.

This elaborate and thrilling park was a Denver family tradition long before its 1995 relocation from northwest Denver to its current home on the outskirts of downtown. The park's highlights include hair-raising roller coasters and thrill rides; for younger kids and squeamish parents there are also plenty of gentler attractions such as bumper cars and tea cups. Twister II, an update of the classic, wooden Mister Twister, is from the original Elitch Gardens, as is a 100-foot-high Ferris wheel that provides sensational views of downtown. A 10-acre water-adventure park is included in the standard entry fee. You can spend a whole day at either the water park or the main park. Over Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, the park is open for holiday-themed events.

The three-story, interactive History Colorado Center serves as the state's de facto historical society. Rotating lobby exhibits welcome visitors with hands-on, offbeat snippets of state history. In addition to revamped versions of the previous collections depicting state history from 1800 to the present, current exhibitions combine technology, artifacts, and multimedia presentations. Milk a life-size replica of a cow, drive a Model T Ford on the plains, or try a virtual ski jump, and then see what you would have looked like in a classroom in the late 1800s.

Just behind the REI flagship store, this serene park is at the center of the South Platte River valley path. Its rocks and rapids are especially attractive in summer to kayakers, bicyclists, and hikers. Sidewalks extend down the South Platte to the east toward the suburbs and west toward the Broncos' home, Empower Field at Mile High. A pathway in yet another direction leads to LoDo. From the park, it's about a 20-minute walk to the 16th Street Mall and Coors Field, which makes it a healthy way to sightsee when the weather is good.