SOUTHERN WYOMING - Montana and Wyoming - page 678

www.paintedpast.org , $25 pp or $20 pp group rate). Visitors will be shown around town
by costume-clad actors playing the roles of long-gone citizens who lived during Casper's
1890-1920 heyday. Over the course of about an hour, you'll learn about murders, hangings,
and love triangles from six different actors. You could also opt for a tour of Fort Caspar or a
paranormal tour (90 minutes, $25 pp group rate). It's an incredibly entertaining way to get
a feeling for Casper's wild and woolly past.
MM Nicolaysen Art Museum and Discovery Center
The museum around which Casper revolves is the impressive Nicolaysen Art Museum
and Discovery Center (400 E. Collins Dr., 307/235-5247, www.thenic.org , 10am-5pm
Tues.-Sat., noon-4pm Sun., $5 adults, $3 children 5-18, free on Sunday). Focusing solely
on work by contemporary artists in the Rocky Mountains, The Nic, as it is known locally,
has a permanent collection of more than 6,000 works that includes paintings, sculpture, tex-
tiles, drawings, photos, and prints; it features the region's most important traveling exhib-
itions related to their mission. The Discovery Center offers hands-on art activities for vis-
itors of all ages along with a lineup of classes and special programs. The museum is very
invested in the Casper community and often serves as host to some favorite local events. In
summer the Casper Downtown Farmers Market (5pm-8pm Tues.) is held on the museum
grounds, and on Wednesday evenings during summer the museum hosts Wednesday Night
Live, a series of musical, visual, and edible outdoor events. There's also a wonderful art
show and sale in early November.