Museum of Natural Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point

Thanksgiving Point Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit farm, garden, and museum complex that draws upon the natural world to cultivate transformative family learning. Using the natural world as a springboard for exploration, Thanksgiving Point combines place and process to shape today’s problem solvers into tomorrow’s makers and innovators. Thanksgiving Point is located at the center of Utah’s population growth equidistant between Provo and Salt Lake City metro areas.

Alan Ashton purchased the land for Thanksgiving Point on Valentine’s Day in 1995 as a gift. The creator of the groundbreaking software WordPerfect, Alan wanted to realize his beloved wife Karen’s dream of building a community gathering place.

The Museum of Natural Curiosity is the culmination of a ten-year campaign to build a world-class family science center. The 45,000 square foot LEED-certified building includes one outdoor gallery. Guests cross a creaky suspension bridge to choose between one of four indoor galleries or the five-acre Discovery Garden. A challenging high ropes course soars 65 feet overhead. Guests create stop motion animation films, build simple water machines, and trade items from nature in the Trading Post. Awarded the 2014 Cultural Project of the Year by Associated General Contractors of Utah, the museum has also been featured in Association of Science-Technology Centers Dimensions magazine and in American Alliance of Museums Museum magazine.