UNION CITY, Tenn. — Less than two years after opening in a rural west Tennessee cornfield, Discovery Park of America is celebrating its 500,000th visitor.
According to the park, Ashleigh Hartman, of Dyersburg, was greeted with confetti, banners and noise makers as she entered on Saturday.
The park has been described as a mini-Smithsonian Institution, with its exhibits about natural history, dinosaurs, Native Americans, energy, transportation, science, the military and space flight. But Hartman ended up there as an afterthought. She told park officials her family had planned to attend a Reelfoot Lake arts and crafts festival but couldn’t find parking.
Hartman was with her husband Shane Hartman, and their 6-month-old son Logan.
The family received free annual membership passes and a basket full of goodies from the gift shop.
