The Learning Center is an interactive educational space that is meant to be experienced. Encompassing all learning styles, visitors to the Learning Center can observe, hear, read, and touch their way through the history and application of the rule of law in our country and state.
The rule of law is all around us. Explore the exhibit descriptions below, or better yet, visit the Learning Center today!
Intro Film
This fast-paced, fun-filled introductory film uses pop culture movie clips, animation, 3D graphics and a savvy narrator to show Jade, a teenage girl, the difference between the Rule of Man and the Rule of Law. Put another way, what would society look like without an impartial Judiciary?Duration: Five minutes.
Assembling the Rule of Law
The goal of this artful three-level game is for the visitor to visualize and increase their understanding of the Rule of Law by connecting the correct principles together, forming the four Pillars of the Rule of Law. Players match descriptive images to color-coded columns, or discard untrue legal statements.Duration: Three to ten minutes.
Our Constitution
A trivia game where you can show off your knowledge of the U. S. Constitution. This game can be played online! Click here to play the online version of Our Constitution Game! Duration:Ten to twelve minutes.
Hear from a Judge
In this exhibit, the visitor listens to the personal stories of Colorado judges. Visitors can choose from twelve different justices and judges from a variety of locations around the state. Each judge tells a unique story broken into smaller topics. Generally, the interactive covers four themes: Community and Challenges, Becoming a Judge, The Rule of Law, and Children and Education. Duration: Two to three minutes per video (12 videos total).
Our Colorado Map
Visitors learn key information about Colorado court districts by exploring an interactive map of Colorado on a simple and intuitive touch screen interface. The map of Colorado is divided into the following jurisdictions: Counties, Districts, Water Divisions, and Tribal lands. Duration: Two to five minutes per county (64 counties total).
Path of Resolution
Visitors learn how a variety of case types travel through the court system. Each case allows the visitor to drag a case icon forward along a path that leads up through the court system. At each step on the path, the sculpture of the corresponding court lights up and written and spoken narrative explains the function of that court within the context of the selected case. Duration: Two minutes per case (nine cases total).
Find the Law That Applies
Visitors learn about four different sources of law (U.S. Constitution, Colorado Statutes, Previous Case Rulings, and Court Rules) through one of three cases. Each case is introduced with an animation describing the case and the ultimate decision to be made based on the results of consulting the law. Visitors consult tablets displaying potentially relevant passages from different sources of law, select the passages they believe apply to the case, and make a decision based on the information gathered. Each case concludes with an animation that reveals the correct answer to the question and explains the details of the law that support that answer. Duration: Two to four minutes per case (three cases total).
Judicial Milestones
Interactive touch screen stations allow visitors to explore in detail the judicial milestones present on the adjacent exhibit wall. The layout of the interactive menu mimics the physical wall, so that visitors can easily access more information about any of the 25 judicial milestones presented on the wall. In total, the interactive interprets 91 historical events in 12 searchable categories. Duration: One to three minutes per milestone.
Make Your Case
Visitors take on the roles of the prosecutor, the defense counsel, and the jury in a criminal court case. The case follows the process from the lawyers’ opening statements through the verdict as Ms. Hand is accused of stealing gloves from Ski Outlet. Each lawyer has the opportunity to ask questions of Mr. Green, the owner of Ski Outlet, and of Ms. Hand herself while the jury listens to testimony and evaluates the evidence. Lawyers can object to any question and customize their closing arguments to try to sway the jurors who ultimately hold the power to reach a verdict. Duration: Ten to fifteen minutes.
You Be the Judge
In this exhibit, the visitor assumes the role of an appellate judge in a court case and learns the intricacies of a judge’s responsibilities and decisions. The interactive contains four different court cases: two involving discretion within the law, and two involving interpretation of the law. Original video footage of actual Colorado judges provides an introduction to each court case, and graphic animations of key case details guide the visitor through the case. The visitor is ultimately prompted to make a decision as the judge of the case, after being provided with the many factors that judges must consider in making their decisions. Once a decision has been made, visitors see the rulings of other visitors and have the option to email the results of the case. Duration: Five to seven minutes per case (four cases total).