News Release Archive

Carl Hayden Visitor Center Exhibits to Undergo Extensive Remodel

Media Contact: Barry Wirth, 801-524-3774, 05/13/2013 08:28

For Release: May 13, 2013

Salt Lake City, Utah – The Carl Hayden Visitor Center in Page, Ariz. is about to undergo a major face lift with all new displays now being designed for visitors to the Bureau of Reclamation's Glen Canyon Dam and the National Park Service's Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Rainbow Bridge National Monument. Reclamation has issued a contract valued at approximately $1.5 million to Pacific Studio, Inc. of Seattle, Wash. to design, fabricate and install all new exhibits in the center.

Reclamation and the National Park Service are partners in the operation of the visitor center located adjacent to the dam. The primary theme for the exhibits is: "The Colorado River and its surrounding landscape embody survival, adaptation, and change, while Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell bring into sharp focus the challenges of water and power management and the effects on the people and environment of the desert southwest." Pacific Studio has already begun the data gathering work that will eventually shape the final designs. The finished exhibits will be installed over the winter of 2014 – 2015 with an opening anticipated on May 31, 2015.

Reclamation's Upper Colorado Regional Director Larry Walkoviak pointed out that the current exhibits were installed twenty-five years ago and are in need of updating. "Significant changes in the operation of Glen Canyon Dam and the overall management of the Colorado River system have occurred since the old exhibits were installed in 1988. The new center will interpret not only the history and construction of the dam, but will reflect upon the broad range of dam and river management challenges." Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Superintendent Todd Brindle said, "The exhibits will examine the totality of management challenges, past and current human interactions with the land and river, and resource and recreation management into the future."

Pacific Studio will design, fabricate and install the exhibits and other interpretive media, remove existing exhibits, and prepare the area for the new displays. Reclamation will manage the contract which is being undertaken through a memorandum of understanding between National Park Service and Reclamation with each agency providing 50 percent of the funds involved. "The exhibits will benefit all visitors to the parks and the dam," said Brindle, "and are being funded with revenue from entrance fees and annual passes." Walkoviak said that "the contributions from Reclamation are funded through the sale of hydro-power from Glen Canyon Dam."

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.