Durango Discovery Museum

The Durango Discovery Museum^[1] at the Powerhouse is an interactive science center located in Durango, Colorado, a mountain town in the Four Corners area, in southwest Colorado. The museum opened on February 23, 2011 in what was once a power plant.

The plant provided Alternating Current, the power we use today, as early as 1892.^[2] Nikola Tesla invented AC power, and disagreement ensued between Tesla and his former employer, Edison Machine works. When Tesla pointed out problems he perceived with Direct Current to its inventor (and his boss), Thomas Edison, the inventor of DC current, the two men parted ways and became bitter rivals.^[3] In the 1890s, Tesla worked in Colorado Springs, where he experimented with transmitting energy at high altitudes. Durango benefited; the town had AC powered street lights well before many large Eastern cities.

In honor of its past, the primary focus of the Durango Discovery Museum is energy, with a concentration on progressive forms of energy including solar and wind power. After ten years of renovation on the Mission style building, the museum has kept the flavor integrity of the original Powerhouse. For example, the old boiler room is still intact, but also serves as a theater.

Located on the bank of the Animas River, along the river-path which runs through the town, the museum is also the new home of the Durango Children’s Museum, established in 1994. The museum is part of the City of Durango's project to revitalize the riverfront. The Museum is located at 1333 Camino del Rio, Durango, Colorado.

References

1. ^ Durango Discovery Museum Website
2. ^ Bright Hub Web Site
3. ^ PBS Television Web Site