October 2005 - The Grand Re-Opening of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park Visitor Center. You are greeted by a colorful new information counter that provides staff and volunteers with lots of room to answer your questions.
At the entrance to the center is an excellent map of the park, above which sits a model of a full-sized Aiolornis incredibilis, "the incredible bird god of the winds." This extinct bird stood four feet tall and probably had a wing span of between 16 and 17 feet. Fossils from the giant avian have been found in Nevada and in Murrieta, in Riverside County, California and in the Anza-Borrego Desert in San Diego County, California. It was the largest bird ever to soar the skies of the northern hemisphere. One wonders what it would have been like to see Aiolornis as it stalked its prey on the ground, as it is thought to have done.
The new exhibits show how geological forces shaped the landscape, life forms and human stories of the Anza-Borrego Desert region, and feature a small slot canyon entrance. Here is a quick look at the new visitor center.
There are many more exhibits at the center than shown here, and a well stocked bookstore too. Look up as you leave the exhibit area to see the mountain lion that has been watching you.
Here is another view of the front counter.
Anza-Borrego's new exhibits were created by Split Rock Studios and were funded by the 2000 Parks and Water Bond, which benefited many of the State of California's state and local parks.
Split Rock Studios is well known for creating cultural and natural history exhibits for museums and educational institutions. They began their business by creating dioramas and natural history models over 30 years ago, and have won many awards, among them the "2003 NAI Media Award for Best Interior Exhibit" for their Lewis and Clark Expedition exhibit at the Sioux City Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Iowa, and the 1997 Telly Award for “Fireside Summit” video at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, Californa.
Be sure to put the newly renovated Anza Borrrego Desert State Park Center on your list of places to visit this year. The new exhibits and layout make this great resource even more colorful, educational and entertaining!
