Crossroads Campaign
The Falls of the Ohio Foundation and State Park announce the Crossroads Campaign to re-energize the telling of the Falls story with new interactive exhibits.
The new exhibit design will replace the Interpretive Center’s 15-year old original exhibits with state-of-the-art immersive experiences emphasizing four key themes of the region’s scientific, natural, and cultural history, and strengthen the connection between the Interpretive Center and outside fossil beds. These four unique themes are:
An Ancient Sea – The Devonian Period
A Changing Land – Prehistoric People
Converging Cultures – Cultural Heritage
The Falls Today – Shaping Tomorrow
Area businesses will have the opportunity to contribute to the campaign including special naming recognition with the new exhibit design. To date, the Foundation has raised $1.5 million toward a total $9.5 million goal which includes new exhibits, an endowment, and a phase two building expansion.
A community treasure, the Falls of the Ohio State Park and Interpretive Center serves over 500,000 annual visitors of all ages. Visitors use the park for hiking, canoeing, bird watching, geological and archaeological study, and for a vast range of recreational and educational activities.
Since the Interpretive Center’s opening in 1994, over 890,000 visitors, including 250,000 school-age children have been served. Over 400,000 people have participated in over 17,000 educational programs, many of which address the Indiana and Kentucky science standards. And, visitors of all ages have come from all 50 states and over 50 countries to experience the compelling story of the Falls through the Interpretive Center’s original exhibits over the last 15 years.
At the Falls of the Ohio, connecting the environment of the ancient past with the natural and cultural history of yesterday and today is no small feat. For 15 years, the Falls of the Ohio State Park and Foundation have worked together to tell visitors the exceptional story of the Falls of the Ohio.
Fifteen years may seem minuscule in the Falls 386-million-year old history, yet much has been accomplished by the partnership of Indiana’s 20th state park and the nonprofit Foundation which raised the initial funds to build the park’s Interpretive Center.
In 2007, the Foundation was awarded a grant to conduct a national search for a design company to create the new exhibits. Through a competition process in July of 2008, Solid Light of Louisville was selected as the new exhibit designer for the Crossroads Campaign.
Look for more information to come in the near future about the Crossroads Campaign for new exhibits at the Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center. Concepts for the new exhibits will be on display at the Falls annual Rock the Rocks fundraiser on August 22, proceeds of which go to help fund the new exhibits. To learn more about the Crossroads Campaign and Rock the Rocks, call (812) 283-4999.
The Falls of the Ohio – a geographic, scientific, ecological, historic, and cultural crossroads – is a treasure for all of Southern Indiana, the Greater Louisville region, and the world.
National Natural Landmark – Designated 1966 George Rogers Home Site – Designated 1974, National Register of Historic Places National Wildlife Conservation Area – Designated 1981 (1,404 acres) Indiana’s 20th State Park – Designated 1990 Interpretive Center – Opened 1994 Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Site – Designated 2002 A Kentucky Treasure – Designated 2006 One of the 7 Wonders of Louisville – Designated 2008The Falls of the Ohio State Park is located on the north shore of the Ohio River in Clarksville, Indiana at I-65, exit 0. Park grounds are open from 7 a.m. – 11 p.m. and the Interpretive Center is open Monday-Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Interpretive Center admission is $4/adults, $1/children Monday-Thursday and $5/adults, $2/children Friday-Sunday and major holidays. The Interpretive Center is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
