Colorado Encyclopedia offers wealth of resources for learning at home

As Colorado schools remain shut down to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, many parents find themselves lending a hand with their children’s education at home, and wondering how to answer questions like: What is our state animal? When did irrigation come to the Western Slope? How did the national tuberculosis epidemic of the early 20th century increase Colorado’s population?

The answer to these and many, many other questions about the history, geography, people and events that have shaped the Colorado of today can be found in the Colorado Encyclopedia, an online compendium of information created by educators and researchers from schools across the state, including Colorado State University and University of Colorado.

In addition to a wealth of interesting facts – did you know Denver’s beloved Mayor Robert Speer succumbed to the influenza pandemic of 1918? — the Colorado Encyclopedia offers articles and teaching resources for 4th, 8th, and 10th grade readers. Articles and information on diverse people and places, with virtual connections to archeological and historic sites, are provided for middle-grade and high school students.

All resources on the Colorado Encyclopedia are available free of charge, initially funded by a 2015 National Endowment for the Humanities grant. The $350,000 grant was renewed in 2019 to expand and enhance the Encyclopedia’s more than 700 main entries with 350 additional articles on the state’s history and culture and 75 new annotated guides for K-12 educators.

The Colorado Encyclopedia is now recognized as an authoritative source of information, and ranked both nationally and globally alongside other long-established encyclopedias of similar size. It was recently chosen as a recommended resource for parents teaching at home by Colorado Humanities coloradohumanities.org and Center for the Book.