Celebrating Wide-Open Spaces: Rangelands Here and Around the World
August 24th, 2026
Eureka! McConnel Science Museum
Look out your window in Grand Junction, and the wide-open spaces you see are rangelands. These lands are biodiverse, provide habitat for wildlife and plants, livelihoods for people, and store carbon, but they are often overlooked and understudied.
Come and learn more about your own backyard during a free night at the museum. EUREKA! will be the host of a special exhibit on rangelands here and around the world. In addition, local rangeland ecologist Retta Bruegger, and rancher Janie VanWinkle (also, Executive Board member for the Ruth Powell Hutchins Water Center) will talk about their relationships to these lands. Leave with a deeper appreciation of the lands you love in the Grand Valley and beyond.
