DENVER — History Colorado has opened a new exhibition, “The 90s: Last Decade Before the Future,” which invites visitors to explore the defining moments and pop culture phenomena of a transformative decade.
Jeremy Morton, the exhibition developer and self-professed 90s kid, was excited to tell the story of his favorite decade.
“I think the past is often looked at as hundreds of years in the past, thousands of years in the past, and we often discount our lived history, the stuff that we've grown up with,” said Morton. “I think what this exhibit enables people to realize is that your history is important. What you lived through was momentous, and it shaped how we got to today.”
Visitors will follow a circular path through the exhibit, with the inside containing sections dedicated to each year from 1990 to 1999. Each year, there are between 10 and 15 major events from around the country and world, including moments that happened in Colorado.
“It's really a difficult task to distill an entire decade into 5,000 square feet of exhibit space,” said Morton. “We started with, I think, 40 to 50 events per year, and then we narrowed it down with the input of community members and staff members.”
Around the edges of the exhibit is where you’ll find the pop culture sections that highlight the sports, technology, fashion, music, and movies of the 90s. They created a representation of a Blockbuster video store with shelves full of movies from "The Lion King" to "Braveheart."
“It’s fun for millennials… and Gen X and Boomers to come back and revisit memories that they have shared, the lived history that we all have,” said Morton. “When you come to the exhibit, you realize, 'Oh, wow, so much happened.' And it really sparks conversations with people of like, 'I remember where I was when that happened.'”
Children who visit can learn about the decade when the internet was just beginning to take off. They can relax on a bean bag chair and try their luck on a Nintendo 64. Or they can just walk around and learn why their parents are so interested in seeing things like Tom Hanks’ uniform from Saving Private Ryan, or Bill Clinton’s saxophone.
The History Colorado Center is located at 1200 N Broadway and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission for kids 18 and under is free every day. “The 90s: Last Decade Before the Future” exhibit runs through Oct. 26.
If you would like to learn more about the exhibit or History Colorado,you can check out their website here.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.
