The Bee Family Centennial Farm Museum, located south of Wellington, Colorado, has been a valuable resource for northern Colorado residents for many years. The museum houses a significant and incomparable collection of artifacts, documents, and buildings related to family, agricultural, and Colorado history dating back over 130 years. It is a Colorado Centennial Farm and a National Register Historic District.
However, the future of the Bee Farm Museum is uncertain. After years of dedicated service, Liz Bee Harrison, the current and founding executive director, and her husband and museum caretaker, Rich Harrison, are retiring, and it is unclear whether the museum will survive this organizational change. In collaboration with the Public and Environmental History Center at Colorado State University, the family is seeking to engage museum friends and other interested stakeholders in a discussion to ensure a successful transition so that the Bee Farm Museum can remain a publicly accessible locus of education and research and continue to maintain its place among the area's rich cultural institutions.
We are pleased to invite you to participate in this conversation on Friday, May 3, 2024. The day will begin at 9 a.m. with a tour of the museum and a screening of “All Good Gifts: The Story of the Bee Family Farm.” Following the tour, we will reconvene at the adjacent CSU Agricultural Research, Development, and Education Center (ARDEC) for a discussion about the museum’s current situation and a brainstorming session to plot out possible courses forward. Lunch will be provided, and the event will conclude by 1 p.m.
Please fill out this form to gauge your interest in this event and ensure proper food preparation.
For some background information, please see below two articles highlighting the current situation of the Bee Farm Museum and the necessity to find a way to keep this important institution open and available for generations to come:
Museum Location:
Bee Family Centennial Farm Museum
4320 East County Road 58, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524
Meeting Location:
CoBank Center for Agricultural Education at ARDEC
4492 East County Road 56, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524
On behalf of the Bee Family Centennial Farm Museum Board of Directors and the CSU Public and Environmental History Center, we look forward to your participation and contributions to this important discussion. Please feel free to share this invitation with any other interested parties.
Adam
Dr. Adam A. Thomas
Associate Teaching Professor
Undergraduate Internship Coordinator
Department of History
Colorado State University
Public and Environmental History Center
Faculty Advisor
Phi Alpha Theta
Colorado State University History Club
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