Kartchner Caverns State Park Visitors Center

Introduction

In 1974 (very recent in geological terms), 2 men discovered a vast series of previously unexplored caverns beneath the Arizona desert.

To avoid the destruction of the caves, they were kept a closely guarded secret. Eventually, the family that owned the land where the caves were located (the Kartchners) donated the property to the state in an effort to preserve it for generations to come.

The state of Arizona created Kartchner Caverns State Park in 1988. More than 10 years later, the first real development of the park has occurred.

General Projection was hired to complete the design (original design by Dan Quan Associates, San Francisco) and then build the interactive technologies being utilized at Kartchner. General Projection worked closely with the specialty general contractor (TG Construction) and the firm responsible for video development (Vista Productions) to come up with an experience that visitors would always remember.

Design

To preserve the caverns, few visitors will actually be allowed into the "astrodome" like structure. Most will be asked to enjoy the special effects and designs within the visitor's center as an alternative to experiencing the sensitive caves. That created a huge challenge. Each team member had to contribute to making the visitor's center experience as close to the real thing as possible.

The visitor center includes numerous interactive exhibits. The center piece of the visitor center is the large auditorium. This facility was designed to house more than 100 people at a time for a multimedia, multiple-video-projector show based on closely timed laser discs feeding the projectors and sound systems which serve the English-speaking public, Spanish-speaking public and hearing impaired public simultaneously!

System racks for Kartchner Caverns being prepared for shipment from General Projection facilities after initial integration and testing.

Success

The auditorium presents a fully automated show approximately every 20 minutes. A countdown timer outside of the auditorium entrance let's people know how long they can enjoy the other exhibits before the next presentation.

The other exhibits include a 2-screen "video wall" which is fully interactive and allows visitors to "explore" remote parts of the cavern system without getting muddy. Additionally, a "bats experience" area provides visitors with information on the millions of bats that live in the cave during the year...special sounds surround visitors to give them the feeling of actually being in the cave when the bats are!

For those lucky enough to tour the cave, an interactive sound and light show designed and controlled by General Projection presents the mammoth sections of the cave in a breathtaking fashion.

For more information on the design of Visitor Centers please fill out our Information Request form or email us at Solutions@genproj.com