Farmington officials hear update on new Museum and Visitor Center exhibition focused on Bisti Badlands

Krista Chapman, acting director of the Farmington Museum and Visitor Center, and Tanya Stinson of Visit Farmington updated the City Council on plans for a new long-term exhibition focused on the Bisti Badlands and Farmington history. The presentation described a multi-part, interpretive display to be installed in the museum’s smaller gallery and intended to serve both visitors and local school groups.

The museum and Visit Farmington said the exhibit will occupy the smaller of the center’s two galleries — about 5,000 square feet — and will combine geology and natural history with cultural and economic history. “We serve so many school children in the entire Four Corners region,” Chapman said, describing the exhibition’s educational purpose and noting the project will include an interpretive plan to steer visitors to other nearby sites.

Stinson said the exhibit is meant to act as a tourism driver and an in-town gateway to sites such as the Bisti Badlands and Chaco Canyon. “Our main goal was to create something that truly is a tourism driver,” Stinson said, adding that the display should also give residents “a place of pride.”

Visit Farmington’s board has committed $150,000 to the project; the city previously approved $70,000 in CTED funding, leaving an initial funding pool the presenters said they will use to hire a design firm. Chapman said the city currently has a request for qualifications/proposals (RFQP) posted to select a design firm to develop the exhibition and the interpretive plan.

Councilors asked whether the exhibit will be static or refreshed over time and whether components could be used at other local venues such as the public library or the children’s museum. Chapman and Stinson said the design firm will advise on options for long-term, revitalizable components and on distributing parts of the story beyond the gallery to other community sites.

Chapman and Stinson said the exhibit will lead with the Bisti Badlands’ geology and natural history, then address cultural history, industry and outdoor recreation, and will include interactive elements to engage both visitors and local school groups. They said the museum and Visit Farmington plan to return to council at the end of the month with a recommendation to award the design contract based on the RFQP responses.

The presentation drew positive comments from councilors, who asked the presenters to bring visitor-count data for Bisti when available and to consider outreach to school groups and other community venues.