Day 7 of 117 on our “Go West, Young Man” Two Lane Adventure – Tuesday 7/3/18

We went to Discovery Park of America in Union City TN today with Wayne & Karen, Billy & Pattye, and Carl & Edna. We had such a great time, we were acting like kids!

Debbie, Deanna and Mackenzie were with us, but not in the picture!

Discovery Park of America offers more than 70,000 square feet of galleries and interactive exhibits focused on nature, science, technology, history and art to engage children and adults alike. Their motto is “we make learning fun!”

Discovery Park of America is housed in a futuristic-looking, gleaming-white structure built in a rural field in Union City, Tennessee. It has exhibits about natural and regional history.

We rode the elevator to the top of the 120-foot glass observation tower offers stunning 360 degree views.

There are life size dinosaurs, Native American exhibits.

Energy, science and space flight exhibits, including a Blue Angels plane and a replica NASA rocket.

There are military exhibits that span all the wars. From local battles during the Civil War to the modern day War on Terror.

There was an old-time village, The Settlement 1830 - 1870, with the period cabins, each with a different story to tell. 

There was even a cabin where the “real” sleeping beauty of Obion County lived and died.

There is a barn housing tractors and neon signs, from the early days of Rumley Oil Pull Tractor to the modern day John Deere.

There is a 50-foot metal replica of the human body that includes a 32-foot slide. None of us dared to ride down the slide!

We explored most of their 50-acres of outdoor space, featuring beautiful gardens,

a windmill and the 100-year-old chapel.

The stained glass windows inside the chapel were beautiful!

We learned more about Reelfoot Lake and how it was formed. Reelfoot Lake is the only natural lake in Tennessee. It was created by a series of earthquakes causing the land to rise and sink. The Mississippi River appeared to flow backwards for a period of time, creating a unique ecosystem unlike any other in the state. A river habitat in a lake environment, which is now a natural fish hatchery and home to a variety of birds and wildlife. We even got to experience the “rumble” of the earthquake, like they did in 1912.

The transportation section featured some spectacular classic cars! 

Did I mention beautiful flower gardens?

As well as the beautiful statues!

The creator of Discovery Park of America was Robert Kirkland. He was an entrepreneur and philanthropist who built a national chain of home decor stores and donated $100 million to found the Discovery Park of America education center and tourist attraction in northwest Tennessee. Kirkland was born in Newberry, South Carolina, but he lived in Union City for much of his life. Kirkland grew up the son of retailers who owned and operated a Ben Franklin five and dime store. In 1966, he and his cousin Carl Kirkland founded the Kirkland’s home decor stores, which expanded into a chain of more than 300 locations in 35 states. The cousins also founded CBK Ltd, which shipped gift and home decor items to customers around the world from a distribution center in Union City. By the late 1990s, Robert Kirkland and his wife, Jenny, had sold their business holdings and began to concentrate on philanthropic efforts through the Robert E. and Jenny D. Kirkland Foundation. One of those projects was Discovery Park of America, which opened in 2013.

It was a great day, with special friends at an awesome place!