twin creeks science and education center open house

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials are pleased to invite the public to tour the Park’s new state-of-the-art facility, the Twin Creeks Science and Education Center, and enjoy refreshments during an open house on Saturday, December 1, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.   The Center is located off the Cherokee Orchard Road, near Gatlinburg, Tenn.
“We are pleased to offer our neighbors a chance to see first hand this unique building and the distinctive elements that make this a showcase for the Park and surrounding communities,” said Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson.   “Resource managers will be available to discuss the different office and work stations and our education staff will have hands-on activities highlighting the Parks as Classrooms program for children to participate.  The public can also view a variety of exhibits that were prepared to outline the Park’s different science initiatives and wildlife and vegetation management programs, as well as explore the chemical lab and natural history specimen collection.  Part of the preserved collection includes the extinct passenger pigeon which will be on display,” he said.
The recently-opened 15,000-square-foot facility features environmentally-friendly technology such as low-flow plumbing fixtures, waterless urinals, high-efficiency automatic lighting, windows optimizing natural daylight, and natural and recycled building materials.  Outside the building are a couple of rock lined ponds that were developed to eliminate stormwater runoff from the building.
The Center, for the first time in the Park’s history, provides conducive and efficient work space for Park resource managers and visiting scientists conducting critical research and science programs in the Park, such as air and water quality and the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, a study of all living species.  In addition, the Park’s specimen collection now has a dedicated climate-control room for storing its 50,000 or so catalogued insect and plant specimens.  A hallmark component of this new facility is the ability to share the Park’s ongoing research and field studies with students and teachers of neighboring communities in large classroom-equipped space on site, giving them the ability to explore the process of science in greater depth.
The Twin Creeks Science and Education Center was officially dedicated last week during a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Senator Lamar Alexander as keynote speaker.