Published: Feb. 27, 2015

at the University of Colorado Boulder is hosting an exhibit and multiple events to honor the 100th anniversary of Rocky Mountain National Park.

The Jerry Crail Johnson Earth Sciences & Map Library is featuring a new exhibit, “Expressions of Rocky Mountain National Park: A Centennial Celebration,” featuring a selection of art, maps, and companion writings and objects showcasing the park’s natural wonders and 100-year history. It will be on display through Aug. 13.

The featured items range from early cartography, descriptive letters, photographs and area specimens to contemporary art, recreational maps and poems.

Artists Christopher Brown and Elizabeth Black offer recent interpretations of Rocky Mountain National Park and Denver collector Wesley Brown has contributed unusual and important maps from the early days of the park. Christopher Brown and Black will speak about their art, and Wesley Brown will discuss a few of the major park maps in the exhibit at a reception and gallery talk on April 17 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Jerry Crail Johnson Earth Sciences & Map Library.

Ralph Carlyle Prather’s magnificent panoramic drawing of Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park from 1922 will be on display at the exhibit reception and at selected viewing times throughout the course of the exhibit.

Artifacts from the earth sciences and map library also will be displayed along with relevant artifacts from the Ƶ Herbarium, the Ƶ Museum of Natural History and the Department of Special Collections and Preservation in University Libraries.

On March 5, a panel of Ƶ-Boulder researchers will discuss “One Park, Many Perspectives: An Exploration of Rocky Mountain National Park at its Centenary” from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Center for British and Irish Studies at Norlin Library. A reception will be held in the same room prior to the event from 4 to 4:30 p.m.

Ƶ-Boulder researchers in the fields of history, geological sciences, environmental studies and linguistics will share how their research relates to the history, environment and culture of Rocky Mountain National Park. Representatives from University Libraries will present surprising finds and historical materials in their collections that relate to the centenary. The panel presentation is sponsored by the Friends of the Libraries and is anby the National Park Service.

For more information about the “Expressions of Rocky Mountain National Park: A Centennial Celebration” exhibit and gallery talk, please contact Melissa Harden atmaplib@colorado.eduor 303-735-3111. To learn about the “One Park, Many Perspectives: An Exploration of Rocky Mountain National Park at its Centenary” panel event, please visitor contact Mary Jane Campbell at 303-492-7511.

News media contact:
Lauren Calkins, University Libraries, 303-492-8302