Chicky the Prairie Dog
In the Gems and Minerals hall sits a roughly nine-foot Brazilian amethyst geode, and if you crouch and look into the hole at its base you'll find Chicky, a taxidermied prairie dog frozen mid-wave from inside the crystals. The geode arrived from Montevideo in an anonymous hardwood crate with no paperwork and sat in storage for years; once identified, the hole at the bottom became an opportunity for a little institutional mischief. Westword named it Denver's Best Hidden Gem in 2025, and people still walk right past it.
The move: Make a game of it, race to be first to spot Chicky in the giant amethyst before telling each other where he is, then go hunt the hidden elves in the same trip.
- 📍 City Park
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: Gems and Minerals exhibition (first floor), Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80205 (in City Park); look for the hole at the base of the large Brazilian amethyst geode
Hours: Inside DMNS; requires museum admission (about $25.95 adult). Open daily 9am-5pm; the geode is a permanent display in the Gems and Minerals hall. Confirm hours on the museum site.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Verified 2026-06-07.