FHDC Release

The Flint Hills Discovery Center (FHDC) opens its newest temporary exhibit on Saturday, November 16.

Stepping into the Prairie is a custom-built interactive exhibit that recreates the sights and sounds of the tallgrass prairie through the use of immersive video technology. Envisioned as a “digital field guide” to the Flint Hills, this remarkable educational experience cycles through the four prairie seasons in just 10 minutes, highlighting the plants and animals along the way.

Guests will:

• Interact with a tallgrass prairie ecosystem that evolves through four seasons and day/night cycles
• Run, jump, and wave their arms as plants and animals react to their gestures and movements
• Hop across a digital field as they watch a prairie fire emerge from every footstep
• Leap onto an animal track and watch that animal scurry out of the grass and across the prairie
• Help a dung beetle into its burrow using their feet to guide its way
• Design their own prairie creatures in the “Paint the Prairie” interactive

“The Stepping into the Prairie exhibit is a true original, combining the latest in immersive exhibit technology with the timeless qualities of the tallgrass prairie,” said Stephen Bridenstine, Flint Hills Discovery Center Interim Director. “Every visitor, young and old, will see the Flint Hills in a whole new light after they see this digital prairie transform before their very eyes.”

Stepping into the Prairie was funded through a unique funding collaboration between Kansas Tourism and the Flint Hills Discovery Center Foundation. In 2022, the FHDC received a Tourism Attraction Sub-Grant for Kansas (TASK) award from Kansas Tourism in the amount of $200,000 to help build this new immersive exhibit. The Flint Hills Discovery Center Foundation, a private nonprofit organization, provided a funding match in the amount of $200,000 for a total exhibit project cost of $400,000.

“Stepping into the Prairie is the latest investment by the Flint Hills Discovery Center Foundation in the guest experience at the Discovery Center,” said Jack Lindquist, Flint Hills Discovery Center Foundation President. “We couldn’t be more excited about this new immersive teaching tool that will inspire all who experience it to grow in their love and appreciation for our beloved Flint Hills.”

Funding for the TASK program was through the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation state grants. The FHDC was one of only eight Kansas sites receiving a grant.

Stepping into the Prairie is open during regular hours from November 16, 2024, through May 18, 2025. Regular admission rates apply.

Learn more at www.flinthillsdiscovery.org/sitp