SELF-GUIDED WALKING TOUR
Admissions
Welcome to Golden
Thank you for choosing our self-guided walking tour to explore the Colorado School of Mines campus! We’re excited for you to discover what makes our campus here in Golden so special.
This one-mile walking tour begins at the Starzer Welcome Center, home to the Admissions Office, and takes approximately one hour to complete. The route follows the same path as our regular guided tours.
If buildings are open, please feel free to go inside and take a look around! Please be mindful and considerate of classes that may be in session while you are exploring.
You can find a copy of the tour map below, along with more detailed information for each stop!
Self-Guided Tour Map
Printed maps can be found in the Starzer Welcome Center, located at 1812 Illinois St. in Golden. You can also access a PDF version of the map using the link below. Each tour stop also includes a companion mini map!
View the Map
Tour Stops & Info
You can follow along on the campus tour with each stop below. To learn more about each location, tap the “explore this stop” expander. You can also explore inside certain buildings using our virtual tour!
Stop 1: West Campus Housing
Spruce Hall • (view south)
Residence Hall: for first-year students
Weaver Towers • (view southwest)
Residence Hall: for sophomore-and-above students
Elm Hall • (view west)
Residence Hall: for first-year students
Maple Hall• (view east)
Residence Hall: for first-year students
Explore This Stop
Mines has three suite-style residence halls centrally located on campus: Elm, Maple and Weaver. These halls feature single, double and triple suites with shared restroom facilities and community kitchens, lounges and laundry rooms. Elm Hall also offers gender-inclusive housing. Spruce is our newest residence hall and offers many of the same amenities in a more traditional-style configuration.
Mines also offers Signature Learning Communities where you can live with students who have similar academic or lifestyle interests. In addition to our traditional and suite-style residences, Mines also has seven fraternities and four sororities—about 17% of Mines students are involved in Greek Life. Greek Row sits above our intramural fields and is home to nine of our eleven chapters, offering another housing option for sophomores and upper-class students.
Stop 2: Campus Dining
Mines Market • (view west)
Student Life: dining hall
Explore This Stop
Mines Market is our main on-campus dining facility and features seven distinctive stations for a one-stop, all-you-can-eat dining experience. Swing by the Brick Oven for pizzas and calzones, or stop at the Global Chef for cuisines from around the world.
You can also check out Blaster’s Pasture, an extensive soup and salad bar. If you are in a rush, you can grab a to-go meal or stop by one of the other fast-food options across campus, all of which accept Munch Money, included in every on-campus dining meal plan.
Stop 3: Student Support & Community
Multicultural Engineering Program (view west)
Student Life: support program and community for underrepresented students in STEM
Student Outreach and Support(view west)
Student Life: office dedicated to helping students navigate personal and academic challenges
Explore This Stop
The Multicultural Engineering Program was established on campus in 1989 to recruit, retain, and graduate historically underrepresented students. MEP plays a significant role in promoting the ongoing commitment Mines has to create a more diverse and inclusive learning community. MEP supports cultural events, pre-collegiate programs for middle school and high school students
- The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
- The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
- Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (oSTEM) (LGBTQ+)
- The Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE)
- The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
Stop 4: Academic Buildings
Brown Hall • (view east)
Academics: home to classrooms, lab spaces,
Electric, Mechanical, and Mining Engineering, and the Blaster Design Factory
Berthoud Hall • (view northeast)
Academics: home to classrooms, lab spaces, and Geology and Geologic Engineering
Explore This Stop
In addition to the Design Factory, you’ll find spaces like the Outlet, a makerspace primarily for electrical engineering students; a machine shop; the Capstone Design Lab; and the Brown Garage, home to the Mines Hyperloop Team and many other student projects. On the roof of Brown is a ground station, built in support of the Mines Cube Satellite Program.
You’ll also find study spaces and Blaster’s Brew if you’re in need of some caffeine.
Berthoud Hall
The geology program focuses largely on field skills and responsible interaction with the earth. This department takes on our environmental challenges ranging from natural hazards to water quality. The program focuses on training students to be stewards of the Earth.
Stop 5: Student Recreation Center
Student Recreation Center • (view west)
Student Life: Lockridge Arena, workout spaces, a swimming pool, rock wall, and the Outdoor Recreation Center can be found here
Explore This Stop
The Student Recreation Center, known as the SRC, is a major hub on the Mines campus for athletics, fitness, recreation and more. Lockridge Arena is located on the second floor and serves as the home for Mines’ basketball and volleyball teams.
Stop 6: Ben Parker Student Center
Student Center • (view north)
Student Life: The Mines Bookstore, Periodic Table cafeteria, Blaster’s Pantry, and several student support offices can be found here, including Financial Aid and the Registrar
Explore This Stop
The Ben H. Parker Student Center is in the heart of campus and home to our Student Activities, Involvement and Leadership Office that oversees more than 250 student organizations and is home to many of their offices, including our student newspaper, The Oredigger, and the Mines Activities Council, the student group that organizes one our favorite annual traditions – E-Days!
The Student Center also features many other student-focused offices and resources, such as the Mines Bookstore, Career Center, Office of Financial Aid, Disability Services, our grab-and-go shop called Elements and our food court called the Periodic Table.
Stop 7: Campus Library
Arthur Lakes Library • (view north)
Student Life: access materials, book a consultation with a librarian for your projects, or swing by Book and Brew for a coffee
Explore This Stop
At Arthur Lakes Library, you can find millions of print and electronic materials including books, journals, maps, and government documents. Find yourself stuck? You can book a consultation with a librarian, get reference assistance and research help with your paper, and attend workshops.
From Scholarly Communications to Gadgets to Go, the library is a resource you will find indispensable. There are a variety of study spaces for individual or group collaboration, quiet study with no distractions, and reservable study rooms. Enjoy a cup of coffee from the student-run Book and Brew while getting help from a librarian, working in the computer lab or studying in the library.
Stop 8: Guggenheim Hall
Guggenheim Hall • (view west)
Administrative: University administration and offices
Explore This Stop
The gold dome on top is one of three in Colorado. The others are the state capitol and Casa Bonita Mexican Restaurant in Denver.
Stop 9: Karafar & Stratton Commons
Kafadar & Stratton Commons
Student Life: Open green spaces used by
students year-round. Also home to an interactive
underground geophysics lab featuring buried items
Explore This Stop
But don’t let this space fool you – there’s an underground lab beneath it! Items such as pipes, archaeological walls, coffins and even a full keg of Coors beer are buried below so geophysics students can learn how to use ground-penetrating radar equipment.
Stop 10: Academic Buildings
Chauvenet Hall • (view north)
Academics: Classrooms and offices for
Applied Mathematics and Statistics, as well as Civil and Environemental Engineering
Stratton Hall • (view north)
Academics: Offices for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Division
Hill Hall • (view north)
Academics: Classrooms, offices for Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, and the Mines Foundry
Explore This Stop
Chauvenet was the original building for Mining Engineering, but it now houses the Applied Mathematics and Statistics Department and half of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.
This building also served as the campus power plant at one point, and has old – allegedly haunted – steam tunnels underneath it.
Stratton Hall
Stratton houses the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Division (HASS). Studio courses in this division average less than 20 students!
Stratton is also the home for our Humanitarian Engineering program, which offers two minors, areas of interest and a graduate degree program.
Hill Hall
Hill Hall houses the Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Department. Graduates from Mines in Metallurgical and Material Engineering work in a wide spectrum of manufacturing industries, including metal products, automotive and aerospace industries, and semiconductor fabrication.
Stop 11: Academic Buildings
Green Center • (view east)
Academics: Classrooms, Geophysical Engineering, International Programs, and Graduate Studies
CoorsTek Center • (view west)
Academics: Classrooms, research labs, student workspaces, and the Physics Department
Marquez Hall • (view southeast)
Academics: Classrooms, research labs, offices for the Petroleum Engineering Department
Alderson Hall • (view southeast)
Academics: Classrooms, offices and labs for the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, including the Center for Hydrate Research
Explore This Stop
The Green Center houses our Geophysical Engineering Department – one of only two ABET accredited undergraduate Geophysics programs in the country.
Green also houses our Office of International Programs (OIP) for students interested in Study Abroad. These can be arranged on an individual basis in over 40 countries around the world.
You’ll also find our International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) office, which assists incoming international students with admissions and visa/immigration documentation
CoorsTek Center for Applied Science and Engineering
This building is a significant milestone in a partnership between Mines, the Coors family and CoorsTek, Inc., the world’s leading engineered ceramics manufacturer.
A $27 million donation allowed us to purchase a range of high-tech equipment, including one of the most advanced electron microscopes in the United States, and enabled Mines to establish the CoorsTek Research Fellows Program.
In addition to being home to the physics department, CoorsTek also houses the Alliance for the Development of Additive Processing Technologies (or ADAPT), the Quantum Theory Lab, the Advanced Characterization Lab and the Robotics Lab.
Marquez Hall
This building is home to the Petroleum Engineering Department On the first floor, you’ll find a drilling rig simulator. This is a lab for junior and senior-level petroleum classes where they get to familiarize themselves with equipment.
Alderson Hall
Stop 12: Student Support Services
Campus Centers • (view west)
Academics and Student Life: Resources include The Writing Center, University Honors & Scholars, the Title IX Office, and the Women in Science,
Engineering and Mathematics program
Explore This Stop
WISEM is an executive office on campus, supporting students, faculty, and staff through academic and professional development, seminars, and events.
The Mines campus is about 32% women, remaining a leader in the country for female enrollment in engineering and applied science institutions.
WISEM also serves as support to the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Society of Women in Mathematics (SWiM), the Society of Women in Geophysics (SWIG), and the Society of Women in Physics (SWiP).
SWE (Society of Women Engineers) is the largest professional society on the campus, and Mines currently has the largest collegiate chapter of SWE in the nation.
Title IX Center
The Title IX Office is responsible for ensuring equity in Mines’ educational programs and activities, including Athletics and campus life.
This office also coordinates 1:1 support for anyone who has experienced sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking.
University Honors & Scholars Program
Students in First-Year Honors explore the intersections of technology, science, and society through project-based learning in design, communication, and ethics. Thorson takes a humanities-based approach and Grandey takes a leadership-based approach.
