Golden, CO, 15-19 June 2025

The annual meeting of the American Arachnology Society will be held at the Colorado School of Mines, in Golden, Colorado, USA 15-19 June 2025. Scientific highlights include a genomics symposium and genomics-focused plenary talks by Jessica Garb (silk production) and Platnick Award winner Rodrigo Monjaraz (trapdoor spiders). Learn more The meeting host is Dr. Paula Cushing, Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

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Prices increase sharply again on June 1
Dorm housing is still available!

Golden – “Where the West Lives!” – is a former gold rush town located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The town quickly became an important supply stop for miners seeking their fortune in the gold and silver mining camps high up in the mountains. It became the capital of the Colorado Territory in 1872. In 1876, when Colorado became a state, Golden vied with Denver for the honor of becoming the new state’s capital city but it lost, much to the chagrin of its business owners. Golden is just a 15-minute drive to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and is now home to many restaurants, boutique stores, bars, and galleries/museums.

Pre-meeting Linyphidae ID workshop

The workshop is now sold out, and registration for it is closed. Thank you to all for your interest!

There will be a pre-meeting Linyphiidae identification workshop in the arachnology lab at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, on Saturday, June 14th from 8:30 to 5pm, and optionally June 15th from 8:30 to noon. It will be capped at 20 attendees (with a waiting list) and will have a separate cost. Attendees should have their own copies of Spiders of North America: An Identification Manual. AAS members can log in to purchase the manual on the website for $50; non-members please contact Paula.Cushing@~@dmns.org to obtain it at the members price or for the use of a loaner during the workshop. Those interested in attending this workshop should plan to arrive June 13th.

Meeting overview

Attendees will be welcomed at an evening social Sunday, June 15th, on the Colorado School of Mines campus. That same evening, there will be an early-career/student social at The Golden Mill. The oral and poster sessions will be held June 16th to 18th. The day will start on Monday and Tuesday with a plenary talks by Jessica Garb (genomic explorations of silk production across the spider tree of life) and Rodrigo Monjaraz Ruedas (population genomics and spatial phylogenetics of California trapdoor spiders), and on Wednesday with the genomics symposium led by Prashant Sharma. There will be a post-conference field trip to Rocky Mountain National Park on Thursday, June 19th.

Preliminary schedule

Saturday, June 14th
• Pre-meeting Linyphiidae ID workshop at DMNS

Sunday, June 15th
• Registration and Welcome Social
• Student/early career offsite social
• Poster presenters can hang posters

Monday, June 16th
• Plenary speaker: Jessica Garb
• Oral sessions
• Group photo
• Poster session in the evening
• Poster judges to meet that evening
• AAS Executive Committee meeting

Tuesday, June 17th
• Plenary speaker: Rodrigo Monjaraz Ruedas
• Oral presentations
• Evening social at Goosetown Station with live music (bring your own instruments to jam!)

Wednesday, June 18th
• Genomics Symposium
• Oral sessions
• Business meeting (concurrent meeting for student presentation judges)
• Evening banquet complete with silent auction, award presentations, and live music by The Dollhouse Thieves

Thursday, June 19th
• Optional post-meeting field trip to Rocky Mountain National

Getting there

By air fly into Denver International Airport (DEN). You can catch a RTD A Line light rail train to Union Station

By train arrive in Denver's Union Station

By car Golden is about a half-hour drive (15 mi/24 km) from Denver via I70 West.

From Union Station you can either take an Uber to the School of Mines Campus (it will be cheaper than from DEN: about $25 from Union Station vs around $65 from the airport). Or you can take the RTD W Line train to Jefferson County Government Center in Golden, where there are free shuttles to take you to Campus. Alternatively, you can take the RTD G Line train from Union Station to Wheat Ridge Ward Station, where the organizing committee will arrange for pickup to the meeting venue. NOTE: If you plan to take the RTD G Line and wish to be picked up at the Wheat Ridge Ward Station, you will need to send us your arrival details.
See schedules for all RTD lines. The G Line train is on Track #7 at Union Station – very close to where the A Line lets you off. The W Line train is on Track #11 or #12 (you can walk over to that track underground at Wewatta Pavilion all the way over and up, following signs to the W Line).
Information about transportation in and around Denver can be found here. For flight updates visit flydenver.com.

Housing

Dorm housing. Accommodation will be available on a first-come basis in a new dormitory on the School of Mines campus, a minute or two walk from the meeting venue. Dorm housing costs $77/night, plus a one-time $15 linen fee, and includes breakfast. If you are traveling with an accompanying person and want a double room you can share, please indicate that in the "Additional comments/questions" box at the bottom of the registration form. Note that per CSM policy, dormitory housing is available only to persons 18 and older, no exceptions. Those traveling with children or minors will need to seek off-campus options.
     Space in the dorms is still available! If you have already registered, contact AAS treasurer Nina Sandlin (nsandlin@~@fieldmuseum.org) to add nights in the dorms to your registration (or if you need to adjust your schedule).

Additional accommodation will be available at Courtyard/Denver Golden/Red Rocks and the Golden Hotel in town (also short walks from the meeting site); a limited number of rooms are on hold for AAS attendees on a first-come basis. Several bed & breakfasts are available in the city of Golden.  We expect attendance to be high at this meeting. It is strongly recommended that attendees planning to stay in one of the hotels or bed & breakfasts in town make their reservations early. Discounted rates for hotels will be honored only through April 29.

Early registration is $250-$300 USD for students and retirees, and $500-$550 USD for other attendees. Local persons already on Paula’s “Arachnophile” email list who wish to attend for just one day will be charged a day rate. These prices will increase sharply on May 10.

Accompanying adults who plan on attending any sessions, socials or other organized activities will pay $100 USD. Accompanying children age 5-17 attending the socials or daily organized events will cost $50 USD; children under 5 will attend for free.

Registration includes the welcome social, presentation coffee breaks, evening social events, a ticket to the  student/early career mixer (food and drinks on your own), and the June 18th banquet, plus a tote bag and travel mug with the meeting logo. Please bring your own note-taking supplies. The program will be an e-version, with hard copy available on request.

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Scientific program

The meeting will feature a keynote on genomic explorations of silk production by Jessica Garb and a talk about his work by 2024 Platnick Award winner Rodrigo Monjaraz. A Genomics Symposium is being organized by Prashant Sharma.

Marshal Hedin, Eileen Hebets, and Damian Elias are the program organizers for the meeting. 

Please contact mhedin@~@sdsu.edu with any questions.

Presentation guidelines, grants and awards

Presentations. Attendees may give only one oral presentation at the meeting. Oral presenters may also present a poster. Poster presenters may present more than one poster. However, the program organizers have the discretion to only accept one abstract per presenter in order to accommodate all presenters and to keep within the schedule. Please consult these guidelines for giving an excellent research presentation.

Abstracts should be no more than 250 words in length. The deadline for submitting abstracts was Friday, May 9. Abstract submission has closed.

Plenary/keynote speakers will be given 50 minutes for their presentation with an additional 10 minutes for Q&A.

Symposium speakers in the Genomics Symposium will have 20 minutes total including Q&A.

Oral presenters will have 15 minutes total (12-13 minutes for the presentation with 2-3 minutes for Q&A). To keep on schedule, moderators will welcome the next speaker to the podium at the 15 minute mark. We will have some concurrent sessions so staying on time is imperative.

Posters. The poster boards are each 98 inches wide by 80 inches tall. Each of these large boardd must be able to accommodate two posters. We ask poster presenters to make posters no more than 48 inches (4 feet) wide so that two posters can be placed on the boards side by side.

Meeting T-shirts showcasing the Society's updated logo in white on navy are available in a range of sizes for $20 each. Women's shirts are V-neck.

Silent auction

There will be a silent auction of arachnid-related items after the banquet on the last day of the meeting (June 18th). 

Please bring items for auction and give them to registration desk volunteers when you arrive.

Post-meeting excursion

An all-day post-conference excursion to Rocky Mountain National Park will take place on June 19th. The price – $105 for adults and chilren (age 5-17) requiring a seat – will include transportation to the park and a tour guide who will present information about the history of the park. Lunch (not included) will be on your own, with several options near the mountain town of Grand Lake. More details. Collecting will not be permitted.

Special considerations

Dietary requirements. We will do our best to accommodate dietary restrictions but will not be using caterers who specialize in any specific dietary requirements. If you have a strict dietary requirement (e.g., certified gluten free) you may need to organize alternative meals. Please contact the organizer if you have any questions.

Mobility restrictions. The dorms are all within walking distance of the meeting venue and social venue. Please indicate if you have mobility challenges and will require assistance (e.g., vehicle) getting from place to place. Remember that Golden is over a mile high in elevation (5,675 ft / 1,729 m).

The registration form will include a place to flag such issues.

Colorado tips for travelers

Colorado is called the “Mile High City” for a reason – Denver and Golden start out at an elevation of 5,280 ft (1,609 m). It is a state full of natural beauty and wonder. However, it is high and dry. It is highly recommended that visitors (particularly those not used to being at elevation) adhere to the following tips:

• Stay hydrated – drinking plenty of water is the best way to help your body adjust to higher elevations and to our very dry climate.
• Reduce your caffeine intake (except when you really need to stay awake during sessions!).
• Colorado weather is unpredictable. Be prepared with layers!
• In Colorado’s rarified air, golf balls go 10% farther ... and so do cocktails. Alcoholic drinks pack more of a wallop than at sea level.
• Eat foods high in potassium like bananas, avocados, fruits, tomatoes, chocolate, and granola.
• Watch your physical activity – if you normally run 10 miles a day at home, you might reduce this here.
• We are closer to the sun – we really are! Use sunscreen, bring a hat, and wear sunglasses.
• Altitude sickness is real. If you follow the previous tips, you should be fine; but if you start feeling off, let one of the meeting hosts or volunteers know.

Want to help support the meeting? Donate here

Questions? Contact the meeting host