Interpretative award to Grand Canyon Trail of Time

The Trail of Time at Grand Canyon National Park won the Wayside Media Award from the National Association for Interpretation, according to a story on KCSG tv in St. George, Utah.

From the National Park Service: "The Trail of Time is an interpretive walking timeline trail that focuses on Grand Canyon vistas and rocks to guide visitors to ponder, explore, and understand the magnitude of geologic time and the stories encoded by Grand Canyon rock layers and landscapes." [Right, view of Trail of Time segment. Credit, Mike Quinn, NPS]

"The concept of a scaled geologic walking trail, along the heavily-visited South Rim, was originally conceived in 1995 by Dr. Karl Karlstrom and Dr. Michael Williams as a way to improve geoscience interpretation at Grand Canyon and connect research advances to public geoscience education. In 2001 Dr. Karl Karlstrom and Dr. Laura Crossey began applying for funding from the National Science Foundation to implement the project. Major progress on the project started in 2006 when funding was obtained from the National Science Foundation Informal Science Education Program. Since then the Trail of Time has grown to include Dr. Steve Semken (at Arizona State University), Ryan Crow (at University of New Mexico), many partners at Grand Canyon National Park, professional exhibit designers at Jim Sell Designs, and professional evaluators at Selinda Research Associates, among others."

The National Association for Interpretation (NAI) is a not-for-profit professional association for those involved in the interpretation of natural and cultural heritage resources in settings such as parks, zoos, museums, nature centers, aquaria, botanical gardens, and historical sites.