The brand-new, state-of-the-art Old Faithful Visitor Education Center in Yellowstone National Park opened August 25, 2010. The $21 million facility replaces the old visitors center and expands on its mission to educate visitors about Yellowstone and its geothermal features.

You can also explore the excellent Old Faithful Virtual Visitor Center online, and don't miss the live webcam of the famously reliable geyser.

The new center features four interactive exhibits — “Why Geysers Erupt,” “Hot Water Treasures,” “Hot Spring Ecology” and “Scientific Research” — that invite visitors to learn the science behind Old Faithful Geyser and the park's other amazing geothermal features. Children and teenagers can expand their knowledge through hands-on learning with the Young Scientist Program, and visitors of all ages will enjoy the multimedia theater, bookstore and resource room. And, the building's huge wall of windows offer front-row seats to the eruptions of Old Faithful.

The environmentally friendly, 26,000-square-foot facility is expected to enhance the Yellowstone experience for 2.6 million visitors every year.

Rendering courtesy of CTA Architects