Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center Opened August 11

An open-air dedication ceremony was held for the Grand Teton National Park's new Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center on Saturday, August 11th. Following the dedication ceremony, guests had their first opportunity to step inside and explore this architecturally unique park building and experience its innovative and interactive exhibits. Honored guest speakers who addressed the audience at the dedication event included Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, National Park Service Director Mary Bomar, and Susan Thomas, wife of the late U.S. Senator Craig Thomas.

The 23,000 square foot Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center, designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, is a partnership project funded by the National Park Service, the Grand Teton National Park Foundation, and the Grand Teton Association. The center will welcome visitors to Grand Teton National Park and is a focal point to orient, educate and inspire visitors.

The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center, located near Moose, Wyoming on the Park's southern border, is the Grand Teton National Park's first new visitor center in the past 30 years; it is projected to serve the visiting public for the next 100 years as a world class center in a world renowned national park.

Interactive exhibits designed by Ralph Applebaum Associates focus on four main themes that are important to the park: Place, People, Preservation and Mountaineering. Highlights include: life-size wildlife sculptures, mountaineering and western memorabilia, a three-dimensional park map, floor-to-ceiling windows, and an impressive rock fireplace. A unique feature of the center are its three "video rivers." As you stroll through the building, continuous footage of Teton images are projected on 4' x 15' glass screens which form the walkways beneath your feet.

Numerous sustainable building practices are incorporated into the building, including recycled glass tiles, carpet with post-consumer and post-industrial content, high efficiency cooling and electrical systems, natural lighting, and paints with no harmful chemicals. All wood elements of the building, including logs and glulam timbers, are Forest Stewardship Council-certified and the concrete used in the building has a high percentage of fly ash in the aggregate.