New visitor and learning center opens at Antelope Island State Park

SYRACUSE — Norman Kikuchi comes to Antelope Island State Park for the birds.

"I shoot with a Nikon Z8 and a 600mm lens," he said while picking up his camera. "When I find birds that are flying, I shoot 20 frames a second."

It has been a goal of his to try and shoot as many species of birds as possible.

"There are millions of green-winged teals out here," he said with a laugh while looking through his viewfinder.

But when Kikuchi visited the island Friday, it wasn't a bird that caught his attention.

It was something considerably larger.

"I think it's amazing," he said. "Yeah, it is just so modern."

Kikuchi was talking about the new Antelope Island visitor and learning center, which held a public open house Friday after years of planning and two years of construction.

The new center dramatically expands what visitors will find when they arrive at one of Utah's most popular state parks.

"This is a state-of-the-art facility that we now get to tout and show off to the rest of the world," said park manager Doranne Pittz.

What was once a 500-square-foot visitor center has grown into a 33,000-square-foot complex, according to Utah State Parks.

Inside are interactive exhibits covering the Great Salt Lake, brine shrimp, geology, wildlife, dark skies and Indigenous connections to the island.

There is also a learning lounge with expansive views of the park, where rangers can hold programs, along with an expanded gift shop.

"It is a whole new experience now," said Pittz. "This visitor center has really changed the way people are going to interact with the island in a positive way."

Pittz said even the design of the building was meant to complement the place surrounding it.

"I mean, even the architecture of this building behind me, it's beautiful and it doesn't stick out," she said. "It really does just blend in with the landscape and the beauty that the island has and is."

Pittz also feels what happens inside is just as beautiful.

"We want you to not only visit the island but learn about the island," Pittz said. "It was very intentional that we titled this the visitor and learning center, because every exhibit is interactive and we want people to take away knowing more about the island, the Great Salt Lake, and the importance that we play in the ecosystem throughout the world, let alone just the state of Utah."

Education is a major part of the new center.

The building includes two classrooms and two conference spaces that can be reserved for field trips, conferences, weddings and other events.

For park staff, the classrooms provide something they haven't had before, which is a dedicated indoor space for students who visit Antelope Island.

"We get thousands of school groups and now we have this wonderful space for them to come in. We have classrooms they can use, resources for the teachers of film they could potentially see, and then they can go out and explore what they just learned about," said Pittz.

The new center also includes the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Theater, a giant-screen theater with more than 200 seats.

Two films are scheduled to run hourly during operating hours, "Secrets of Great Salt Lake" and "Keepers of Water," a film of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation.

The films focus on the Great Salt Lake, its importance, and the history of people connected to it.

The overall project is the result of years of work involving state, county, tribal and private partners, according to Utah State Parks.

For visitors such as Kikuchi, though, the new center offers another way to experience a place he already knows well.

He'll still be outside with his camera and long lens, looking for birds and whatever else happens to fly past.

But Kikuchi sees value in a building that can introduce people to the natural world outside its doors, particularly those who might not otherwise experience it.

"For people who don't get out in nature, it brings it to them," he said.

Antelope Island's next major event is its annual bison roundup, scheduled for Oct. 24, when park managers expect another large crowd and, for many visitors, their first chance to see the new visitor center.

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