It’s been a busy two years for the Atlas Coal Mine and they aren’t showing any signs of slowing down.
Plans are in the works to construct an $8.5 million underground visitor centre at the site.
“We have some other work to do before we take that on, but it’s been part of our Tunnel Vision development plan, which we started implementing in 2008,” said Linda Digby, Director of the Atlas Coal Mine Historic Site.
The goal of the building, which will be built into the railway berm at the site, would be to provide a comfortable space for visitors to the site, increase the interpretive potential of the Atlas, and help preserve the history contained there.
“We are primarily an outdoor site and everyone in the badlands knows what that 
brings in terms of variable weather conditions. We need to provide a little more of a comfort station, looking at more of the visitors’ needs. It will also allow us to extend our season and operate at least eight months a year or maybe more,” said Digby.
“It will also give us a way to tell more of the story in a compelling way. There are stories we want to tell, but we just don’t have a place to tell them yet. All of the valuable paper records we keep here in collections are at risk from extreme temperature variations throughout the year.”
The design for the new visitor center has been completed after three years of work by an interpretive designer and architect. The Atlas has also put together a business plan and consulted with a fundraising expert about how to raise $8.5 million for the project.
Aside from a new visitor centre, the Atlas is looking ahead to 2013 and the upcoming May Day and dedication of the Miners’ Memorial.
“We’re thinking a lot about completing the Miners’ Memorial Park and dedicating it on May 4. There will be lots of interesting ways to engage with our mining history that weekend,” said Digby. “It’s a great time to have family to come back that weekend.”
The Atlas is looking for volunteers to help plan the weekend and make it a success.
The coal mine is continuing full steam ahead after two busy years which included the Mining Centennial in 2011, construction of the memorial, and continued restoration of the Atlas. However, 2012 proved to be a rollercoaster.
“We had some great highs. The long weekend attendance blew us away. We had record-breaking weekends like we have never seen before,” said Digby. “But, we really felt like there were a few weeks in July when it was really unpleasant outside, because of the hot, muggy weather and mosquitos. Our Halloween event was impacted by the early arrival of winter.”
There is no timeline established as of yet for the new visitor centre. For the time being, they continue to collect and tell the stories that made Drumheller.
“If there are people out there who have memories from the mining years and haven’t talked to us yet, we’d love to hear from them,” said Digby.