The Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar (the Lab) defines itself as part museum, part think tank, and part public forum. Established within a mixed-use district to revitalize suburban Lakewood, Colorado, the museum was built as part of a community development plan to create a civic space for the suburbs. In this space, the Lab imagined what a museum could be in the 21 st century, and how it could more fully integrate art and culture into the daily lives of residents. One way of doing this was to create a museum model that recognizes the cultural values of the community in addition to those of the contemporary art world. The Lab defines itself as “a non-profit institution dedicated to developing , presenting and disseminating creative research in contemporary art and thought. The Lab is a place for the general public to engage with artists and scholars and a forum for personal reflection, public dialogue, and creative experimentation around contemporary art and ideas.