Our fall Tour Tuesday series features tours on Tuesdays October 10-31.  “Tour Tuesdays” is a series takes guests behind the scenes and backstage to showcase a variety of programs, collections, research, and state-of-the-art facilities. There is no cost to attend a tour but registration is required for each tour guest as tour group sizes are limited. At this time registration for the summer tour series is closed. Our fall tour series will be announced at a later date. Learn more about our tour offerings below (tours are listed in alphabetical order).

Fall 2023 Tour Tuesday Registration will open Sept. 26

Agriculture Lives Here: Nutrien Building

For more than 150 years, the future of agriculture has been cultivated at CSU and after nearly three years of construction, the College of Agricultural Sciences is now home in the state-of-the-art research, innovation and collaboration spaces within the Nutrien Building. Get an inside look at the Bernard Rollin Knowledge Well – a 160 capacity classroom in the round -, the Trading and Simulation room that lets students use real-time market data and trading analysis to learn about commodities, economic returns and risk management and the Ed Pexton Student Success Suite. As the tour reaches the third floor, science is on full display throughout the three teaching labs that host soil science, plant pathology and entomology. The story of agriculture and inclusions is woven throughout the entire building as you learn about food safety, food security, wellness and economic prosperity through the sustainable use of natural resources. 

Duration: 45 minutes

Backstage: University Center of the Arts

Go backstage at CSU’s world-class University Center for the Arts with a behind-the-scenes look at our music, theatre, and dance programs by touring performance spaces and production shops. Located in the former Fort Collins High School, the UCA is also home to two museums: the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art, the Avenir Museum of Design & Merchandising.

Duration: 50 minutes

Biology Building Tour

Come check out the Department of Biology! You will get to see our classrooms and labs, aquariums, a room filled with specimens from all over the world. CSU Biology is a place where everyone is welcome to indulge their curiosity about the living world!

Duration: 30 minutes

Biology Teaching Collection

Visit the teaching collections of the Department of Biology to see the amazing animal materials we use to teach the “ology” courses and learn about evolutionary adaptations throughout the tree of life! Get an up-close look at their collection of over 13,000 mammals and birds, one of the largest collections in the U.S.

Duration: 1 hour

Brew Kitchen and Innovation Lab

Working closely with industry leaders like New Belgium Brewing Company, Odell Brewing Co., MolsonCoors and Anheuser-Busch, the Fermentation Science and Technology Program is the first of its kind in the country. The Gifford Building is home to one of two brewhouses on campus – like a fine Bière de Garde or mature cheddar the facilities are aged to perfection and offer a delicious pairing of insight into the program and a behind the scenes look at the facilities that give students hands-on experience into what it takes to brew some of the nation’s most delectable brews. 

Duration: 1 hour

Bugging out at the CP Gillette Museum of Arthropod Diversity

The CP Gillette Museum of Arthropod Diversity in an on-campus treasure that is part of the Department of Agricultural Biology. We are the 16^th largest insect collection in the nation and we house about 4.7 million specimens. Our holdings include many important agricultural pests and represent much of the vast diversity along the Rocky Mountain regions. Our museum is a very active research collection that is committed to the three pillars of our land grant mission; research, teaching, and outreach/extension.

Duration: 30 minutes

Business in a Hybrid World

Join us at for a tour of the Rockwell Buildings where technology and business meet in the new hybrid world. The tour will include the first of its kind, Mosaic classroom: 27 monitors 4 robotic cameras and a full live broadcast studio come together to bring students and guests from all across the world into the classroom. We’ll tour the state-of-the-art Gary B. Halley financial lab that features 30 workstations, 16 Bloomberg terminals and sophisticated analysis software that puts you right on the New York Stock Exchange Floor.

Duration: 45 minutes

CSU as an Age Friendly University

In 2021, Colorado State University was the first higher education institution in Colorado to be named an Age-Friendly University, a designation that celebrates CSU’s commitment to understanding and fulfilling the needs of older adults in higher education. In this tour, learn about CSU’s aging research agenda and the programs and services available at CSU’s Center for Healthy Aging.

Duration: 1 hour

CSU Spur Campus

Have you been hearing about CSU Spur and meaning to make a trip? Join us!

If you haven’t yet visited the CSU Spur campus in Denver, this Tour Tuesday is your chance! Hop a bus from CSU Fort Collins to the new public-facing campus to learn about it first-hand.

• Enjoy lunch from a caterer from the neighboring community
• Hear the vision of this first-in-the-world campus that represents CSU in Denver
• Explore the three-building campus with a chance to hear from CSU researchers and experts about why they’re engaging at Spur!

Duration: 5 hour tours (includes motorcoach transportation to/from Spur)

About CSU Spur

CSU Spur is everything you’d expect from a college campus – research, engagement with industry, a variety of classes – but it also offers free admission to the public to watch science and research in action. Learn more about CSU Spur at CSUSpur.org.

CSU Weather Station

Take a guided tour of one of the longest operating weather stations in the western United States.  Weather observations for research, teaching and public information have been conducted on the CSU campus since the early 1870’s.  This tour will showcase the instruments that are used to measure temperature, humidity, precipitation, evaporation, winds, solar radiation and more.  Many of the instruments date back to the 1950’s and are still operational today!  Learn how the data are used and how you can access the data for yourself as well. 

Duration: 45 minutes

Designing & Building the Future Together: Nancy Richardson Design Center (RDC)

The Nancy Richardson Design Center (RDC) is a hub for innovation, designed as a dynamic space to invite curiosity and inspire collaboration. It houses flexible classrooms, gallery and exhibition spaces, and offices and labs of both the RDC and Design and Merchandising departments. The RDC Fabrication Labs (Prototype, Wood, Metal, Imaging, and Ideation) are open to all CSU students, faculty, and staff. We also host regional community events and workshops highlighting Design Thinking, interdisciplinary learning, and creativity. Our IDEA courses are open to Lifelong Learners (ages 55+) and all CSU students.  We also offer full-service design and small-batch production runs. Join the tour to see our fabrication labs in action, including virtual and augmented reality; vinyl, textile, and UV printing; laser cutting and etching; digital modeling; 3D printing and scanning; wood working; metal fabrication; fabric assembly; and screen-printing equipment. 

Duration: 50 minutes

Food Science & Human Nutrition

Do you like food?

Come join us to find out more about our nutrition and fermentation programs as well as see our amazing experiential learning spaces! Come hungry…there will be opportunities to taste along the way!

Duration: 1.5 hours

From Game Day to Student Success: Canvas Stadium

Canvas Stadium opened in the summer of 2017 and brought Rams football games back to campus for the first time in 50 years, providing countless new engagement opportunities for the entire university. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the Football Hall of Fame, Orthopedic Center of the Rockies Field Club, club level seating, venue spaces, locker room, training center, players lounge, New Belgium Porch, and you’ll be able to step onto the field just like our athletes do on game day.  This impressive 727,000 sq. ft. facility is also home to the Iris & Michael Smith Alumni Center, general classroom space and the Collaborative for Student Achievement.

Duration: 1 hour

Hydroponic Harvests: A On-Campus Grown Lettuce Tour

Join us on a tour of our hydroponic lettuce farm where you will learn about our innovative methods of growing lettuce without soil! You will learn how we use nutrient rich water to grow healthy and delicious lettuce, all while reducing our environmental impact. This program is a living and learning lab where both practicum students and our HDS Horticultural Intern have the opportunity to learn how to grow produce in a greenhouse setting. We look forward to showing you sustainable farming! 

Duration: 1 hour

General Campus Tour

Whether you are new to campus or are interested in learning more about our beautiful campus, our campus tour provides a look back at our humble beginnings. We’ll explore the historic oval, delve into the academic spine of campus, learn about the day in the life of a student, step into newly renovated facilities, and discover programs on campus that staff & faculty can enjoy. We’ll feature trivia and fun facts about CSU all along this 1-hour tour route.

Please note: The General Campus Tour is not a Prospective Student Tour or Transfer Student Tour. Please visit our Admissions website for more information about Prospective & Transfer Student Tours.

Duration: 1 hour

Into the Vault: Gregory Allicar Museum of Art

Step inside the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art With a growing and diverse collection of more than 5,000 works of art and dynamic programing, the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art is a cornerstone of Colorado State University’s arts initiatives and a link to alumni, Fort Collins, and our region. The museum is dedicated to educational vitality, embracing all audiences, and to honoring a diversity of art making across time periods, geographies, and cultures. Unique to this tour is the opportunity to go inside the vault which is not open to the public!

Duration: 1 hour

Mystery of CSU History

What are the mysteries of CSU’s history? Join us as we learn the history of how CSU began. Tour inside some of the oldest buildings on campus and discover what our historic buildings have been home to over the years. Find out which buildings have ghost stories, myths and legends – maybe you have stories of your own to share. Learn some of the theories as to why CSU’s oldest building burned down in 1870 and where the remains have been placed. Discover the mysteries that have attributed to CSU’s history on this 1.5 hour tour.

Duration: 1.5 hours

Not Your Grandfather’s Mapmaking: Exploring Spatial Technologies with the Geospatial Centroid

Overlooking the Lory Student Center from its inviting space in Morgan Library, the Geospatial Centroid is the virtual—and physical—center of campus activities related to geospatial technologies. Researchers and others from on- and off-campus engage with the Centroid to learn how best to incorporate and use spatial data (data that has location associated with it) in their work. From detecting snow leopard prey in Mongolia to mapping environmental inequities in Colorado, come learn how the Centroid turns myriad datasets into compelling story maps, online analysis apps, and elegant cartographic products.

Duration: 45 minutes

Powerhouse Energy Campus

Completed in 2014, the CSU Powerhouse Energy Campus is located near the heart of Old Town and serves as the headquarters of the Energy Institute. The Powerhouse Energy Campus is an incredible facility that conducts research and development across a wide-range of disciplines on a host of energy and climate solution topics. The facility also is home to the Engines and Energy Conversion lab (with large engines that are quite impressive), cookstove research, large-scale thermal energy labs, hydrogen fueling and electric vehicle labs, a rapid prototyping lab and so much more!

Duration: 1.5 hours

Rams Against Hunger Food Pantry

Please join us for a tour of the Rams Against Hunger Pantry.  During this visit, we’ll discuss the scope of food insecurity at institutions of higher education and CSU specifically.  In addition, we’ll address the mechanisms currently in place to support greater food security among our entire CSU community (students, staff, and faculty). 

Wanting to help out a fellow Ram? You can bring a donation to your tour. Rams Against Hunger Food Pantry accepts any unopened, shelf stable items, as well as fruits or vegetables grown at a home garden.

Operating from The Office of Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement (SLiCE), Rams Against Hunger offers a menu of services that support students, faculty and staff experiencing food insecurity. Services include a food pantry, a meal-swipe program, pocket pantries, and in-person assistance with navigating federal aid eligibility. This multi-pronged approach acknowledges the broad scope of the issue and seeks to normalize this difficult conversation for the individuals affected, as well as for the institution as a whole. Our hope in providing these services is to ensure that basic needs need not be overlooked at the expense of a degree. By reducing the stigma around food insecurity and meeting student, staff and faculty needs in a way that affirms dignity, we hope to live out the creed that Rams really do take care of Rams.

Duration: 45 minutes

Rocky Mountain Student Media

Students at Rocky Mountain Student Media operate a radio station, a TV station, a magazine, a newspaper, a daily news website, a documentary film unit, an advertising and marketing agency, and a whole lot more.  About 250 students from all areas of campus work for or volunteer with us each year to learn the necessary media and management skills needed to have a successful career. Come explore CSU’s independent student media operation and learn about the unique programs that have been keeping students informed and documenting CSU life since 1891.

Duration: 45 minutes

Sustainability in Plain Sight

Join Stacey, the CSU Campus Energy Coordinator on a green walking tour of Main Campus. Let’s walk and talk and explore a few of the things that enable and support sustainability action and practices here at CSU. Sustainability at CSU is a team sport. We’ll explore and discuss the things you may or may not see that help CSU achieve its sustainability goals; the role students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends play. Every one of us makes a difference!

Duration: 75-90 minutes

Temple Grandin Equine Center

Please join us for a tour of the Temple Grandin Equine Center (TGEC) at Colorado State University.  The TGEC is CSU’s initiative that focuses on integrating research and education in Equine-Assisted Services (EAS).  EAS utilizes horses and the horse environment to provide activities and therapies for the benefits of humans.  During a visit to the TGEC at the Foothills Campus, you will tour the new TGEC complex, watch an EAS appointment, where an individual with special needs will be working with their therapist, some volunteers, and of course the horses, and be able to spend some time interacting with a few of the horses.

Duration: 1 hour

The Biggest Walk-In Closet in the Rockies: Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising

The Avenir Museum tells stories of dress and textiles that inspire respectful curiosity and connection across peoples, places, and cultures. Come visit the home of CSU’s renowned collection of historic clothing and textiles, with an impressive facility at the University Center for the Arts-East that serves as a tremendous research and teaching resource for CSU students and scholars.  The galleries feature changing exhibitions that are free and open to the public. And, lucky you — this tour includes a guided glimpse into that 5,000 sq. ft. ‘closet’ that is otherwise not accessible to visitors!

Duration: 1 hour

The Equine Connection: Equine Teaching and Research Center

The Equine Teaching and Research Center seated next to the beautiful foothills in Fort Collins, Colorado is home to the world-first equine sciences undergraduate program.  Come explore our state-of-the-art facilities and learn about advancements in equine research, training, management and welfare. We are also home to the newly opened Temple Grandin Equine Center, which provides premiere opportunities in programming, education and research in equine-assisted services. Come learn how you can get involved in this amazing industry.

Duration: 1 hour

The Spoke

The Spoke!  On-Campus Bike Center

Join us on Tour Tuesday to see The Spoke in action by dropping in any time from 1 pm to 3 pm.  The Spoke, a living lab, is Colorado State University’s on-campus bicycling maintenance and educational training center servicing our University students, faculty, and staff.  The University’s living lab is operated by students, where it is their goal to work with each of our customers, sharing knowledge, techniques and best practices on bicycle maintenance, safety, and repairs.  We also offer long term bike rentals to our campus community.  The Spoke is located at Laurel Village in the Pavilion near Durrell Dining Center.  Tell the team you are a part of Tour Tuesday and get a gift.

Duration: Drop-in between 1-3 p.m.

What’s So Special About It: Rare and Unique Materials at the Morgan Library 

Where can you find a poem written on palm leaves, Babylonian cuneiform tablets, wax reproductions of extinct apples, paintings on the foredge of a book, and every CSU yearbook ever printed? At the Morgan Library! Get a tour of the CSU Libraries’ secure storage area to see these treasures and more. Employees from the Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections will share materials and insights from our collections that spotlight: campus history, faculty research, CSU Extension and Engagement, the Peace Corps, Colorado River Compact author Delph Carpenter, and Colorado agriculture and western water resources. Bring your CSU history questions!

Duration: 1 hour

CSU in Bloom – Annual Flower Trial Gardens

Colorado State University blooms from late May through early October at the Annual Flower Trial Gardens. Located west of the University Center for the Arts, the Annual Flower Trial Gardens’ outdoor display and test areas were established to allow students, researchers, industry representatives, homeowner and extension personnel to learn, teach and evaluate through horticulture research and demonstration projects conducted in the unique environmental conditions of the Rocky Mountain/High Plains region. You’ll find everything from common favorites like roses and petunias, to exotic plants and flowers, to names like “Brocade Cherry Night”, “Lucious Royale Cosmo”, “Hot Waterblue” and “Margarita Orange Flair”. Keep your eyes peeled for award winners and best in show for ideas for your home gardens.
Note: The Annual Flower Trial Gardens are open to the public and no tour is needed to experience the beauty of the gardens. Pack a picnic and enjoy your meal garden-side.2