What Are Those Weird Nests Near I-25 in Denver? Adventure Forest Is Coming

Have you seen the towering nests rising between I-25 and the South Platte River and wondered what they were?

No, they're not part of an Elitch Gardens attraction or some trippy part of the Meow Wolf installation coming to town. They're part of Adventure Forest, the latest exhibit at the Children's Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus.

Adventure Forest is a 500-foot-long aerial course created by the museum's exhibit design team, in collaboration with Bonsai Design, Denver Parks and Recreation, and artist Wes Sam-Bruce. The project has been over a year in the making and cost $2.3 million to install. (See our work-in-progress Adventure Forest slideshow from last November here.)

Sam-Bruce describes his work as a tribute to the natural world.

"I hope it acts as a seed for children to be more inquisitive, open, to listen, and inspire them to treat Earth like a friend,” he says.

“We wanted to create something unlike anything in the city with Adventure Forest. We know it has taken longer than expected, but we promise, it will be well worth the wait,” explains Mike Yankovich, the museum's CEO. “This breathtaking experience will inspire kids to be brave and believe in themselves, get their hearts pumping and remind them that outdoor play is way more fun than looking at a screen.”

Kids over five years old or 44 inches tall, as well as their grownups, will be allowed to climb through the installation, swing on ropes, cross a glass and log bridge, zip down seventy-foot slides, and scramble up to a viewing station ninety feet above the ground that looks down at the South Platte River and offers a 360-degree vantage point.

Adventure Forest opens at 9 a.m., Monday, June 3, at the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus, 2121 Children's Museum Drive. The attraction is included in the price of admission to the museum.