Longmont Museum sets Oct. 17 reopening, but history gallery is absent from opening-day lineup

Longmont Museum in Colorado plans to reopen its galleries on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, after more than a year of closure for an expansion and renovation. The city announced on Sept. 28 that visitors can attend a free celebration from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and see a new children's exhibit and two art exhibitions. A planned permanent history gallery is absent from the museum's opening-day exhibition list, leaving its availability that day unconfirmed.

The announcement gives visitors a firmer plan than the museum had in August, when an advisory board packet described installation still underway. The Oct. 17 event remains scheduled; the city has not reported a completed reopening. The distinction matters to anyone planning a visit around a particular gallery, especially the history gallery, which the museum has discussed separately from its listed opening exhibitions.

What visitors are scheduled to see on Oct. 17

The museum lists three exhibitions beginning Oct. 17: DreamLab in Lila's Children's Gallery, Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Portrait, and Women Artists: Four Centuries of Creativity. DreamLab is designed as a permanent, hands-on space for children. The city's description names a dragon castle and a crystal cave among its features. Those attractions form part of the museum's first announced gallery offer after the long closure.

The Kahlo exhibition will open the new Bill Stewart Feature Gallery, according to the city. It is set to include 98 photographs alongside personal letters and notes from Kahlo's private collection. The museum lists its run from Oct. 17 through Jan. 31, without specifying a year for the January closing date on the exhibition page. That page presents the show as an opportunity to learn about Kahlo's relationships and life through the photographs and correspondence.

How the expansion changes the museum

The city describes the expansion as a nearly $10 million project that adds 70% more public gallery space. The museum says its feature gallery has nearly doubled in size, allowing more room for artists and multiple exhibitions at once. A courtyard renovation, including a new stage, was completed in an earlier phase. The expanded galleries, rather than the museum's entire program, account for the long interruption: classes, concerts, films, talks and camps continued while the galleries were closed.

Funding came from a capital campaign supported by more than 450 individuals, foundations and corporations, according to the city. The Stewart Family Foundation contributed more than $6 million. Museum director Erik Mason said the reopening was about ‘creating more opportunities for people to come together, explore, learn, imagine and connect.’ The announced public space and children's exhibit show where some of that investment is intended to be visible to visitors.

Is the permanent history gallery opening too?

The museum's exhibition listing does not name the permanent history gallery among the Oct. 17 openings. Nor does it say explicitly that the gallery will be closed that day. An Aug. 27 city announcement described the gallery as a developing space for stories about Longmont and the St. Vrain Valley, with proceeds from a Sept. 11 fundraiser supporting its development. That description does not establish an opening date or an opening exhibition.

In August, The Badger examined a museum advisory board packet and reported that the city material it reviewed identified the planned history gallery without naming its opening presentation. The newer city reopening announcement specifies DreamLab and the two art exhibitions, but still does not identify a history gallery presentation. Visitors therefore have a named lineup for three exhibitions, while the history gallery's first-day status remains an open question.

What changed since the August readiness report

The Badger's Aug. 18 report said DreamLab installation was still underway in an Aug. 17 advisory board packet. It also reported that the museum then had a temporary occupancy certificate for its new lobby entrance, but not yet for the galleries. The packet said the museum was on track for Oct. 17; it did not establish that the remaining installation, inspections and approvals would be complete by then. Those were August findings, not a verified account of the galleries' present readiness.

The city's Sept. 28 announcement now sets out a free, all-day celebration and names the exhibitions it expects visitors to explore. It schedules a ribbon-cutting for 9 a.m., with historical talks, art classes, Discovery Days crafts, animated films and guided tours during the day. It does not provide an updated occupancy approval status. The museum's published plans are the basis for a visit, while completion of the remaining work and the history gallery's availability have yet to be established in the cited announcements.

The museum is at 400 Quail Road in Longmont. Its exhibitions page carries the current listed lineup for Oct. 17, and the city says the day's activities are free. Visitors seeking the permanent history gallery specifically do not yet have a confirmed opening-day exhibition or admission plan for it.