A waypoint, not a destination

As you are driving west on Interstate 40 through Texas, even if you don't even know it, you are heading towards the town of Tucumcari, NM.  And eventually you will see a billboard with a familiar face.

For most of the people passing this way, this billboard will not trigger an exit. They have schedules to meet; they have never heard of Tucumcari; there is no Starbucks.

However, some people may be able to make time. We did. We took the exit.

Where do they keep the trilobites in this town?

The Mesalands Community College Dinosaur Museum is a top attraction in Tucumcari, and has been supported by local families and businesses. However, it is tucked in on a quiet area off the main street, across from a closed-down floral shop.

You will not find this museum on the way to McDonalds or the truck stop . You are going to need to make a few turns. It is a destination.

But you will find a welcoming place with people waiting for you... as long as you arrive Tuesday through Saturday.

The bright and interesting entrance, flanked by brass castings of fossils, beckons dino fans from near and far. 

Places, everyone!

Unlike some visitor centers we have seen, which can sometimes be like going to a Cracker Barrel, the Mesalands Dinosaur Museum and Natural Science Laboratory has a very thoughtful layout, beginning with some foundational information, and then taking guests on a trip through the geological column, incorporating impressive private collections of meteors and other specimens.

Depending on your interest, you could spend a solid hour or two looking at the many well-displayed exhibits.  There are no animatronics, no virtual reality program. If you made it this far, you will be propelled by your interest in dinosaurs. There is an area with features for kids. And dino nerds will definitely find a good selection of tshirts, mugs and mosasaur teeth.

Location, location, location

As far as attracting visitors, Mesalands Dinosaur Museum has a few things going for it— or against it— depending on your point of view.  This is mainly because, it is in the middle of (sorry, Tucumcari) nowhere.  Anyone with an interest in geology or dinosaurs, and some discretionary travel time, will make the time to stop. And, some road-weary travelers with limited interest will be totally up for stretching their legs in an air conditioned facility full of cool coprolites, deceased dino eggs, fascinating fossilized footprints, and magnificent mosasaur teeth.

But it also means that many people will get no further than the welcoming smile of T-Rex on that billboard, because they are not into fossils and are waiting for an exit with a Starbucks.

The Mesalands Dinosaur Museum is kind of a destination in itself.  As such, much careful planning has been made to accomodate guests who have taken that exit, have a real interest in their subject, want to see a real paleontology lab, and have the time to enjoy all the museum has to offer.

Our mission: not a destination but a waypoint

For the Grand Canyon Creation Visitor Center, we know we are not going to be a destination for most visitors.

However, anyone heading to the South Rim entrance of Grand Canyon is going to be passing right by our property. They will not need a map or exit number to find us. And that means we have the potential to see many more visitors.

So for our purposes, we want to have a way to convey our main message quickly, not just a single option of meandering around detailed exhibits--though we do want to have detailed exhibits, too!

For some, stretching their legs in an air conditioned facility with some cool exhibits might be a welcome break from being out in the sun. Maybe we can offer them some things to think about. That would be great!

For some, the creation visitor center will be a welcome stop to get information that is based on biblical earth history. They may make time to stay longer, watch a film, meander through some interesting exhibits, look at outdoor features, and talk to staff. And that would be great!

But for many, on "the trip of a lifetime" to Grand Canyon, it will just be a quick bathroom stop, refilling their water bottles, a quick look at a sequence of well-executed lobby exhibits or maybe watching a brief video with an overview of our message, and taking a Safety Brochure-- maybe 15 minutes or so. That may be all the time they have to spare. Maybe they will pull out the information later, when they are not so busy, and give some thought to the message. And that would be great, too.

We hope to help give visitors a brief orientation to the signficance of what they are seeing, with a view to looking to the Lord, our Creator and Savior.

So we may not be a destination for every visitor, but hopefully a waypoint-- a marker along the path to their destination. Our prayer is that the Lord can use the Grand Canyon Creation Visitor Center to help visitors passing through truly get the most benefit from their visit to the Grand Canyon.