Visitor Center Paradox

There is a paradox at the heart of every visitor center project: if it's so fantastic that people never want to leave — it's a total failure.

The more time you spend in a visitor center, the less time you have for the actual destination. We came to visit Niagara Falls, not the Niagara Falls Visitor Center.

Are there solutions? Sure. Example: keep it short. Like, 10% of the real destination duration, or less.

But what guides content? Here’s one trick that works: Visitor center exhibitions should grant visitors perceptual superpowers.

What are "perceptual superpowers"? Insights that amplify the visit to the actual destination. Create visitor center experiences that grant visitors …

… x-ray vision, so when the geyser erupts, they can "see" the geology underground.

… time travel, so when they tour the prison ruins, they can "see" convicts of the past in the hallways.

… flight, so when they look over the canyon rim, they can "see" like a bird, flying over the water below.

Here's the thing:
If a visitor center is so fantastic that people never want to leave — it's a total failure.

Keep it brief, and try the “perceptual superpowers” trick.

Warmly,
Jonathan