National Frontier
Trails Museum

We’re “jumping off” in Independence, where so many 19th Century pioneers began their overland journeys to Oregon, California, and Santa Fe. Hilferty is creating an Interpretive Master Plan that will position this Museum as a national destination, the first stop for visitors wishing to learn about how the trails experience transformed and continues to shape America’s identity. Immersive environments move visitors from popular myths to the West that was and bustling Missouri River frontier jumping off towns. Visitors sit amid a circle of wagons to enjoy multimedia trail diaries in Campfire Theater. In the Experiential Learning Center, students face challenges as they attempt to cross the West.