🏛️ Museums
$$ Western Museum of Mining & Industry
225 North Gate Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 80921
A 27-acre indoor-outdoor museum on Colorado's mining heritage, with working steam engines, a pair of live burros to visit, and guided tours that fire up the century-old machines a couple times a day.
Time your visit for one of the machinery demonstrations (typically 10 AM and 1 PM) — that’s when the 35-ton Corliss steam engine runs and the whole museum comes alive. The burros, Chester and Rosebud, are a hit with kids. Near the Air Force Academy’s north gate, so easy to pair for a half-day.