This museum offers a variety of interactive exhibits that trace the history of western Colorado over the past thousand years. The Native American galleries offer pottery and other artifacts from the period before Columbus's arrival to the 19th and 20th centuries. There are also displays that show the evolution of firearms on the frontier and a special room dedicated to the early Spanish explorers. Perhaps the highlight of the museum is a recreation of what Grand Junction looked like a hundred years ago, with full sized buildings from one-room schools to saloons. For those wishing to learn more, the Loyd Files Research Library on the second floor offers rare books, diaries, historic photographs, and other one-of-a-kind items for historians and genealogists.