Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

The Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center is located in West Yellowstone Montana at the gateway to Yellowstone Park. The not-for-profit center’s purpose is to provide educational programs focused on the animals of the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. The facility is open 365 days a year, and the animals are beautiful and well cared for.

Planning Stages

We began working with the educational staff there in the spring of 2015. Our initial task was to design an outdoor video display, sound, and a control system for their new outdoor amphitheater. The equipment had to survive the harsh West Yellowstone weather, and be reliable and easy to use, while still allowing for future expansion.

The project evolved quickly as Faux Rock experts began to arrive.  Their job was to fabricate structures to house our audio equipment as well as provide a ledge for the LED screen to be placed on. We used the software SolidWorks to design a model of a rock backdrop and a tall rock outcropping. An example of this rendering is found on the left.

The Bear Den

The lower center area of the backdrop wall features a “bear den” opening, which houses a Meyer Sound 600HP weatherized subwoofer. We pushed for a “full range” sound system which calls for extending the low frequency sound range below 80Hz. This investment in equipment raises the excitement and emotional levels the audience experiences. With well recorded audio/video clips of bears growling and snorting you can almost feel the breath of the bear. We even got the wolves at the Center to howl when we provided a demo of the system. As with many of our projects, we chose Meyer Sound speakers, due to their build quality and sound accuracy.

Final Install

During the spring of 2016, the screen and sound system were installed . Some minor tweaks to the video display have been required each of the following seasons, and we’re grateful to the talented team at Advanced Electrons for their continued assistance in tutoring us on keeping the system tuned up and functioning during the busy summer season.

Lane McClure, the staff contractor for the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, did an amazing job organizing and driving this project forward to the goal line. Thanks Lane!

Applicable Links

Video Screen System: www.advanced.pro

The story of Katherine Blodgett, a pioneer of technology later used in TV’s and computer screens

Learn more about how we can help with your Audio and Video projects!