Rotary Hears About Discovery Park

McKENZIE — Scott Williams, CEO of Discovery Park of America- Union City, was the featured speaker at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of McKenzie.

He was introduced by Rotary VP Ricky Price.

Williams has a career of working in Washington, DC, and at Graceland in Memphis before accepting the position at Discovery Park.

The Park has a museum and Heritage Park.

Museum
Discovery Park of America’s iconic 100,000-square-foot museum showcases ten exhibit galleries focused on topics like science, space, technology, the military, natural history, regional history, art, transportation and more. Guests experience:

4-D simulation of the early 1800s earthquakes that created the beautiful landscape in this region.

20,000-gallon aquarium revealing the underwater life of the region’s lakes.

Dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric artifacts.

Military equipment, vintage automobiles and an actual Titan missile ready to launch.

Interactive displays focused on science, technology, engineering and math—and dozens more hands-on experiences.

Theater with films from Giant Screen Films, a leader in the IMAX industry.

The tallest observation tower in this region.

Galleries dedicated to the visual arts.

Unique state-of-the-art meeting spaces for groups ranging in size from ten to thousands.

Gourmet southern meals prepared by Sabin’s Café Catering.

Heritage Park
The 50-acre outdoor heritage park includes a man-made river flowing through the extensively landscaped property, along with waterfalls, bridges and other water features. Guests experience:

Reproduction of an early 20th century town with a working gristmill, windmill, one-room school house and more.

Japanese, European and American gardens.

Reproduction of an entire mid-19th century frontier settlement.

120-year-old church restored to its original glory.

Turn-of-the-century train station and depot with locomotive, cars and caboose to explore inside and out.

Liberty Hall including a replica of the Liberty Bell and exhibit on American freedom.

One-of-a-kind nature-inspired playground experience featuring a PlayOdyssey Tower, log steppers, log balance beams, hillside climbers, slides and a mini zip line.

Simmons Bank Ag Center exhibit showcases the agricultural traditions and innovations of this region.

The museum was the brainchild of Robert Kirkland, the founder of Kirkland stores. He provided the money to construct the faculty in Union City that attracts 265,000 guests annually.

Discovery Park of America is a 501(c)(3) public charity funded by generous individuals, corporations and foundations including its principal funder, the Robert E. and Jenny D. Kirkland Foundation.