Did attendees at the party to celebrate the opening of the “1968” exhibit at History Colorado Center get down and funky Friday night?

You bet your sweet bippy, they did.

Plenty of Sonnys and their Chers boogied on down to the evening which included Swiss cheese fondue, Tang Jell-o, cheese balls and crackers and “Spirit of 1968″ brownies accompanied by cocktails and a hit parade from Jerry Barnett and his Moments Notice music makers.

The groovy party was the perfect way to introduce the traveling exhibition that represents the good, bad and ugly of a pivotal year in America’s history.

For me, the Pucci-inspired prints and go-go boots took me back to junior high where we straightened our hair by sleeping on soup cans.

To say the least, the exhibit, which will be on display through April 24, was a blast from the past. In 1968, the death toll in the Vietnam War reached a new high. Riots and demonstrations raged across the country. Apollo 8 orbited the moon. And the nation was transformed by the tragic assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.

It was also the year that “Hair” opened on Broadway and “Laugh-In” debuted on television. The “1968” show is a multimedia experience that looks at how the events of the year shaped a cultural revolution.

Joining the “1968” exhibit is History Colorado’s original exhibit, “El Movimiento: The Chicano Movement in Colorado”. The events, art and the impact of one of Colorado’s most important social movements is adjacent to the “1968” exhibit.

Exhibit tickets are $12 for adults; $10 for seniors and students; $8 for children ages six to 12 and free for History Colorado members and children under age eight.

For more information on this don’t miss exhibit at 1200 Broadway, call 303-447-8679 or visit www.historycolorado.org.

Where were you in 1968? More important, what were you wearing? Watching on TV?

The year 1968 was a turning point for a generation coming of age and a nation at war, the aftermath which can still be felt today.  The 1968 Exhibit is coming to History Colorado in February. This must-see exhibit brings to life this pivotal American year through photographs, artifacts, vintage pop culture items and interactive experiences.

“Discussions about the impact and legacy of 1968 are being had at dinner tables, in classrooms and on the streets of America,” said Tom Brokaw, honorary chair of “The 1968 Exhibit,” former anchor and managing editor of the “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw,” and author of “Boom! Talking About the Sixties”.  “It is time to document this watershed year through the voices of the people who experienced it firsthand, and to hear from the next generation about what it means to them.”

Organized chronologically by the months of the year, the 5,000-square-foot exhibit will transport visitors back to 1968. The sights and sounds of this media-saturated age fill the exhibit and stories from the people who were there are shared throughout. Three interactive lounges focus on music, design, movies and television.

“It was quite a year for indelible television,” said William Convery, director of exhibits and the Colorado State Historian at History Colorado. “We all have our own great memories bundled in with classic TV shows and characters. Objects from ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Mission: Impossible,’ ‘Laugh-In’ and ‘The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour’ provide another personal connection to this evocative year and exhibition.”

The exhibit kicks off with a 1968 premiere party on Feb. 5 at the History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway.  Tickets for the event cost $100; $90 for museum members.  Tickets can be purchased at www.historycoloradocenter.org/exhibits/the-1968-exhibit/premiere-party/.  Guests will have first access to the exhibit, as well as entertainment, groovy music, cuisine and cocktails in a setting reminiscent of 1968.  There’s nowhere else in the state where guests can explore this incredible year, reflect on their own fond memories, and see the events that changed Colorado and America forever.

A centerpiece of “1968” is a reassembled Huey helicopter, the mainstay workforce in the Vietnam War. It carried soldiers into battle, returned the wounded, hauled supplies and picked up body bags. Vietnam was said to be the first living room war because we could see it happening on TV sets in American living rooms.  The Huey is a symbol of that wrenching conflict and is literally staged in a living room.  One of its massive rotors looms overhead like a chandelier.

In addition to the three interactive lounges in the actual exhibit featuring music, design, movies and television, families can soak in the ambiance of 1968 while relaxing in the Hippie Haven Lounge areas that will be located at the entrance to the History Colorado Center and in some of the museum’s commons spaces.   Visitors can find out what happened in 1968 on their birthday and check how what they wear today compares with what would have been acceptable in 1968. These lounges will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 7, 16, 17; March 21, 27, 28; and April 3 and 4 and May 9.

On Feb. 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. visitors are invited to jump back in time and learn how the “1968 Exhibit” was built.  Featured activities include the crafts of ’68, learning to macramé and a swingin’ ‘60s fashion show.  Blasting off into outer space will feature the Apollo 8 mission and astronauts.

Tickets for the exhibit are available online at www.HistoryColoradoCenter.org .  History Colorado will also have extended evening hours, open until 9 p.m. every third Tuesday (Feb. 17, March 17 and April 21).