Denver got a Meow Wolf installation that opened in September, and it has been a big hit. What is meow wolf? Well…

Meow Wolf is an art installation interactive adventure project mystery story…? The first incarnation was built in Santa Fe, and there’s actually a cool documentary about the origin. I went there a few years ago and I still don’t know how to describe it to the uninitiated. Now there are two additional iterations in Las Vegas and Denver, and each one is unique.

Convergence Station

The Denver Meow Wolf is based around a fictional futuristic transportation hub, Convergence Station, that takes you to three distinct lands depending on which Line you choose to travel on. “QDOT” employees and locals in the three neighborhoods are milling around and occasionally providing guidance.

What to expect when you’re meow wolfing

• Things you don’t understand. Live in the uncertainty, or find a crew member to ask and see what happens. There’s a whole story layer to the QDOT universe, with hints around in different rooms.
• Stairs, catwalks, tunnels oh my!
• Sensory overload. There’s a lot going on, a maze-like layout, secret doors, and lots of people and kids milling around. I took a sensory break by returning to the lobby. If you can find it, the blue tile room is also a nice quiet place to sit and children find it boring so don’t stick around too long.
• Lots of people, waiting your turn, sharing etc. Kids all over.
• People in various states of dress from casual to costumes.
• Metal detector / bag check on entry.
• Getting lost. There’s no map. Try every door, and see what happens. Good luck!
• Hand sanitizer stations throughout. Safety first!

Tips for first time visitors

I think explaining too much about it will ruin the fun, but here are some tips I would give a friend if I knew they were going for the first time:

1. Buy tickets online, in the morning. If you want the most for your money, book a morning ticket. Your ticket is good for your entry, and the rest of the day until you walk out the doors. So, if you want to spend a few hours, book in the morning and you’ll have plenty of time, and fewer other people around who have decided to spend the day. You can’t bring snacks, but there are bathrooms and a cafe inside.

1b. Adults only tickets. They just started offering time slots that are adults only, and if you get overwhelmed with kids under foot this might be a good option.

2. Wear comfortable shoes and bring as little as possible. There is a coat check, but no lockers or anything. You’ll be on your feet a lot exploring.

3. Give yourself extra time to find parking, especially if you’re not there in the morning time slots. It’s a weird location and if they run out of parking it can be a little tricky cruising around for options.

4. You need a Q pass if you want to do the whole mem (memory) collection layer of the experience, but if not you’re not really missing anything. Basically there are little checkpoints around that you can “boop” with your card to collect mems or activate some miscellaneous gadgets. At first I could not figure out what I was doing wrong, trying to boop with my thumb. Enter, Q pass.

The cards cost about $2 at the “information” desk when you first walk into the lobby of the building. You can view the mems you’ve collected on ATMs or on your phone later? I’m still figuring this part out, so far I’m just collecting them any time I go.

5. Sometimes things happen when you touch things, or look inside things. After you touch things, there is hand sanitizer around or you could byo. Sometimes there are secret puzzles or tricks that make cool things happen.

6. Bring a few quarters. You might find a use for them.

In summary

Do I think it’s for everyone? No. But I think it’s pretty cool, and I like the opportunity to go back and notice something I didn’t notice the last time. Explore and enjoy!