There is no doubt the dedication of the new Visitor Education Center at Old Faithful was the biggest event of the Yellowstone National Park calendar this year, as dignitaries both local and national showed up to hail the opening of a building afforded a prime location next to some of the most historic and noteworthy landmarks in America. Does the new building measure up to its august company?

Mostly yes, we think. With a design from CTA Architects Engineers of Billings directly mimicking next-door Old Faithful Inn, the new Visitor Education Center incorporates the latest in green design, already winning designation from the U.S. Green Building Council for Gold LEED certification, one notch below the top Platinum rating. (We’re guessing the project got dinged on the points system for transit and recycling issues related to the relatively remote location of the facility.) Sitting on the same site as the old Visitor Center, that concrete monstrosity dating from the 1960s, the new Visitor Education Center serves several goals: a gathering place for the Yellowstone community, an entry point for visitors interested in hitting the geysers, and adding some sorely needed space for the National Park Service at the busiest part of the Park. It truly was a labor of love for the Yellowstone community: $15 million of the $27 million cost of design and construction came from the nonprofit Yellowstone Park Foundation.

The main entrances to the new Visitor Education Center face Old Faithful Geyser itself and the opposite side of the building. Large windows in a multistory atrium rise above a large hall in the center of the building; the new Ranger station, complete with high-tech display of geyser eruption times, is located here. It’s a more accessible spot for folks to chat with Rangers than the previous Visitor Center, and rightly it’s the first thing you see when you walk in from the Old Faithful side.

Once in, you have your choice of three destinations. To one side is the larger Yellowstone Association store and the auditorium; to the other is the exhibit hall, with a smaller kids’ area to the side. We suspect this is where most visitors will end up: while there's plenty of information about thermals at the actual thermal features, the new Visitor Education Center build on this with more detailed information.

The exhibit hall crams in many displays detailing the Yellowstone thermal features, as well as some limited information on animals and the history of the Park. The stress is on interactive features; multiple video monitors displays information on noteworthy thermal features, while other virtual stations provide additional information about the Park.