The purpose of exhibits in this project is to get people excited about what is in the Okefenokee, what happens in the Okefenokee, what the processes are. It's intended to inspire lifelong learning. Sam Van Nostrand, design director for the project, said his goal was to present the information in an accurate way, without taking too much of the visitors' time. The best part is visitors won't get wet feet, O'Connell said. They will also meet an animated storyteller rocking on a chair on the porch of an old cabin.
People can select swamp songs on an old juke box.
But instead of music, they will hear the screeches of owls, the bellows of alligators and the calls of more than a dozen other animals native to the refuge. Other displays explain in an entertaining way why refuge officials conduct controlled burns to eliminate the heavy underbrush in upland areas, or why the water is murky brown, or what it's like to plunge below the water's surface in a mock submarine. It's easy to fall into a predictable pattern. We wanted to challenge the visitor. Another exhibit will explain other areas of the refuge that can be visited, such as Stephen Foster State Park on the west side of the swamp, and the many access points to the refuge near Waycross, O'Connell said.