Take time for arts and science this summer — for free

Getting out of town for a summer vacation is always fun.

But staying local also has its bene ts. Denver is a destination, too, attracting millions of visitors every year. Here, we have a bustling city that boasts an array of entertainment options, cultural institutions and restaurants.

To begin exploring all that the city o ers this summer, I recommend looking to the SCFD.

SCFD is an acronym for the Scienti c & Cultural Facilities District. It is supported by a sales tax of one penny on every $10 to support cultural organizations in the seven-county metro area — Denver, Boulder, Broom eld, Adams, Arapahoe, Je erson and Douglas. e SCFD supports more than 100 organizations in Denver alone and about 300 throughout the district. According to its website, the “SCFD distributes more than $60 million each year” to these organizations. org. Hover over the ‘Find Culture’ tab to get a drop down menu and select ‘Free Days’ to browse the calendar.

To ensure that everyone has access to these fun places and experiences, the SCFD o ers Free Days.

It’s easy to nd these SCFD Free Days. Some arts and cultural institutions list them on their websites, but to nd out about them at all the venues throughout the metro area, visit scfd.

A number of cultural organizations, including the Denver Art Museum and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, o er SCFD Free Days on a regularly-occurring basis throughout the year. Others, the Denver Zoo and Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison, for example, o er their SCFD Free Days more sporadically, albeit still plenty throughout the year. It just takes a bit more planning in advance for those.

It’s important to note that thanks to the SCFD, some organizations — like the Broom eld Veterans Museum and the Colorado Music Hall