Student musicians played outside Norlin Library for the University’s annual Culture Crawl on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. (Io Hartman/CU Independent)
On Wednesday, Oct. 19, the University of Colorado Boulder hosted its second annual Culture Crawl to celebrate all the cultural organizations available for free to students on campus. The crawl is a campus-wide, department-inclusive event that stretches across the entirety of the CU Boulder campus. Held from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., the event gave students the opportunity to make it to the plethora of events and activities like live performances, cultural projects and fun games that revolve around culture, race and identity.
The University of Colorado Boulder held its annual Culture Crawl at different locations on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2022. (Io Hartman/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado Boulder held its annual Culture Crawl on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2022. Posters advertised the event at different locations across campus. (Io Hartman/CU Independent)
“The event is for a lot of different student groups on campus,” said sophomore Eddie Roth, the social media advertising manager for the theatre student group, Sandbox. “We were lucky enough to be asked to represent student theatre at the university. ”
Some of the first events began inside the Center for Academic Success (CASE) with a NEST Mural Quest and a LEGO Scavenger Hunt on the top floor of the CU Heritage Center. These two events highlighted the cultural history on campus by testing students’ knowledge while taking a Mural Quest Test and engaging in stories about CU Boulder’s history that date back 150 years.
Other events included a Music Performance and Art Showcase at the Roser Atlas Center, art making, scavenger hunts and more at the CU Art Museum, as well as DIY Lantern making and Tours at the CU Museum of Natural History. These events included a free musical performance by Atlas Ph.D. student Torin Hopkins and a musical showcase from graduate students Sasha De Konick, Andrew Dilallo and Anna Pilot, as well as casual art-making and tours of the Rocky Mountains’ largest natural history collection obtaining objects of cultural history.
Student musicians play in front of Norlin Library’s west entrance for the annual Culture Crawl on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. (Io Hartman/CU Independent)
Proceeding into the afternoon, the staff of the Center for African and African American Studies (CAAS) hosted trivia and a “What’s Behind the Mask” activity for students.
“Since we are a brand new center, this is an opportunity for us to give a small showcase of the things that we do every day as an organization on campus,” said John Robinson-Miller IV, associate director of CAAS. “Through this activity students were approached with two questions: What is in front of the mask and what is behind the mask, opening students up to their different identity traits and stereotypes.”
“This activity is a great way for students to feel like they can talk about certain stereotypes,” he said. “Since stereotypes aren’t born with us, it makes for a great discussion.”
Outside of University Theatre, Sandbox presented a scenic background, which contained artifacts and props from previous Sandbox shows for students to pose in front of.
“We just recently had an amazing devised piece called Around the Dinner Table, which was a walk-in rehearsal gallery and the set pieces we used in the show we got to bring back for Culture Crawl,” said Roth. Students with Sandbox were directing those getting their photos taken to add drama to their shoot but also bring out a real laugh.
The University of Colorado Boulder held its annual Culture Crawl at different locations on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2022. Pictured is the (Io Hartman/CU Independent)
The Jerry Crail Johnson Earth Sciences and Map Library carried on the crawl by hosting an International Chocolate Tasting and Dinosaur Origami. Students were able to explore the library, which contains a variety of maps from around the globe and take some home as decor. While taking a glimpse at all the maps inside of the library, students had the opportunity to try milk, dark and white chocolate associated with specific countries found on those maps.
“This is the first time the Earth Sciences Library has been a part of the Culture Crawl,” said Phil White, Earth, Environment and Geospatial Librarian. “We’re seeing quite a few people coming through, and it’s only the beginning.”
The Tattered Cover Hue-Man exhibit highlighted books by BIPOC authors, like I Take My Coffee Black by Tyler Merritt, for the annual Culture Crawl on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2022. (Io Hartman/CU Independent)
After getting a sugar rush, students could sit back and relax for the Live World Music inside Hellems Arts and Sciences building or The Strange and Glorious History of Music Notation at Howard B. Waltz Music Library.
At the same time, Norlin Library was hosting the University Libraries Open House. During this event, students were able to listen to live music outside of the library after learning more about why the Norlin Library is considered the building that holds community, connection and creativity on campus.
Rare and Distinctive Collections Instruction Coordinator Sean Babbs talks with students about the university libraries’ One Seed program during the annual Culture Crawl on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. (Io Hartman/CU Independent)
The crawl wrapped up with a Cosmic Crawl through Space and Time inside of Fiske Planetarium and Science Center and a film screening of THIS IS (NOT) WHO WE ARE at Muenzinger Auditorium.
The Culture Crawl is not only a great way for students to participate on campus, but it provides educational activities for students who want to learn more about history and cultural institutions that are provided for all students on campus.
A student looks at the Our Seed exhibit from The University Libraries on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. (Io Hartman/CU Independent)
Contact CU Independent Assistant Arts Editor Lauren Schaffler at lauren.schaffler@colorado.edu.
Contact CU Independent Head Visual Editor Io Hartman at io.hartman@colorado.edu.
