An open-air dedication ceremony will be held for the new Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center on Saturday, August 11th. Following the dedication ceremony, guests will have their first opportunity to step inside and explore this architecturally unique park building and experience its innovative and interactive exhibits. Honored guest speakers invited to address the audience at the dedication event include 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 22,000-square-foot Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center is a partnership project funded by the National Park Service, the Grand Teton National Park Foundation, and the Grand Teton Association. Once opened, the center will serve as a premiere facility to welcome visitors to Grand Teton National Park; it will also become a focal point to orient, educate and inspire visitors from near and far.
President George Bush recently signed a congressional bill to name the new visitor center in honor of Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY). Throughout his political career, Thomas was a strong advocate for the National Park Service, and especially for Grand Teton National Park. Thomas not only secured the federal funding for this building, he also consistently supported many other critical national park programs and projects.
Discussions about the prospect of a new visitor center began over twenty years ago. At that time, park managers and the Grand Teton Association (formerly the Grand Teton Natural History Association) began discussions about adding an auditorium onto the existing Moose Visitor Center. To address concerns about inadequate conditions in the Moose Visitor Center with regard to overcrowding, seismic stability of the building, and minimal space for interpretive exhibits, it soon became apparent that a new building—not just an auditorium— was needed. Construction of the new facility began in June of 2005 after a groundbreaking ceremony, and the Grand Teton National Park Foundation launched an ambitious capital finance campaign.
The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center is the park’s first new visitor center in the past 30 years; it is projected to serve the visiting public for the next 100 year as a world class center in a world renowned national park.
