The Center's new program series, “Celebrating the Preservation of our Natural and Cultural Heritage”, continues on Tuesday, February 21st. Carol Sperling, Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services at Mesa Verde National Park, will present a program on the park’s new Visitor and Research Center that is under construction. A reception will begin at 5:30pm, with the program starting at 6:00pm in the Center of Southwest Studies’ Lyceum.
The new visitor center is located at the junction of the park entrance road and Highway 160, and has been a goal of the park for many years. It will replace Far View Visitor Center as the primary location for visitor orientation, information, and ticket sales. Far View Visitor Center is located 15 miles inside the park, and has operated only during summer months. The new Visitor and Research Center, located close to the highway and open year round, will provide information and visitor services to travelers at the beginning their drive into Mesa Verde. In addition, the new building will also house the park’s research collection, archives and research library, greatly improving public access and stewardship of more than 3 million artifacts, archives and library collections.
Park staff, partners, and twenty-four Native American Tribes associated with Mesa Verde have worked together for the planning and design of the new facility. Designed using the standards of the US Green Building Council, it is expected to be LEEDS certified at the platinum level. Initial completion of the building is expected in spring, with expectations to open the building for public use in late fall 2012, followed by events to celebrate its completion in spring 2013.
The new visitor center is located at the junction of the park entrance road and Highway 160, and has been a goal of the park for many years. It will replace Far View Visitor Center as the primary location for visitor orientation, information, and ticket sales. Far View Visitor Center is located 15 miles inside the park, and has operated only during summer months. The new Visitor and Research Center, located close to the highway and open year round, will provide information and visitor services to travelers at the beginning their drive into Mesa Verde. In addition, the new building will also house the park’s research collection, archives and research library, greatly improving public access and stewardship of more than 3 million artifacts, archives and library collections.
Park staff, partners, and twenty-four Native American Tribes associated with Mesa Verde have worked together for the planning and design of the new facility. Designed using the standards of the US Green Building Council, it is expected to be LEEDS certified at the platinum level. Initial completion of the building is expected in spring, with expectations to open the building for public use in late fall 2012, followed by events to celebrate its completion in spring 2013.
