Technology Tactics: Great Bend Convention & Visitors Bureau Uses GPS Technology to Educate Visitors About National Wetlands & Wildlife Scenic Byway

As I mounted the GPS ranger on the inside of my front windshield, it occurred to me that I could be getting ready to waste the next few hours of my day taking a gps-guided tour through an area that I know like the back of my hand. I was born here. I grew up here. My job revolves around knowing every little detail about the community and all that it has to offer. Little did I know that I was about to learn more about the area's historical and cultural reputation in three hours than I had learned in an entire lifetime as a resident.

In late June, I had the opportunity to take advantage of a new program being offered by the Great Bend Convention & Visitors Bureau. The program allows residents and visitors alike to check out a GPS ranger from the Visitors Bureau office and take a self-guided tour through the National Wetlands & Wildlife Scenic Byway. The byway, which was designated as such only recently, is a scenic tourist route that encompasses many of the communities surrounding Great Bend. In the following paragraphs, I will give you a glimpse into some of the many wonders I discovered with the help of my technological tour guide.

Nature Conservancy
The first leg of the tour took me north from Great Bend through Hoisington to the Nature Conservancy. Here, the GPS tour guide told stories of Native American influence in the plains region, and used colorful Indian stories to segway from one piece of information to the next. Facts about the types and number of bird species that visit the conservancy are illustrated with pictures and video clips displayed on the screen.

Kansas Wetlands Education Center
From the Nature Conservancy, the GPS tour guide provided step-by-step instructions for how to follow the scenic byway, which then takes you past the Kansas Wetlands Education Center. While en route, the GPS provided theories about prehistoric wildlife that may have he region was underwater during the prehistoric era.

"The GPS tour is a great way to recruit potential visitors to the center," says KWEC Educator Curtis Wolf. "The Center is a great supplement to the tour, as our staff can provide visitors with an even deeper look into the way the area has evolved."

Beautiful Byway – "This is just one of the many beautiful photos I snapped while on the GPS-guided tour of the National Wetlands & Wildlife Scenic Byway," says Chamber Marketing Coordinator Rachel Mawhirter. "I probably took a lot longer on the tour than necessary, because I kept stopping to photograph the natural beauty all around me."

Mount Pleasant Church
In one of the most remote areas of the tour, nestled one mile off the byway is Mount Pleasant Church, a quaint historic chapel built over 100 years ago. Just one of the many detours from the byway, this leg of the journey provided information about plants used for medicinal purposes by Indian tribes who lived in the area. As I reached the church itself, the tour guide also touched on the area's architecture and where its influences originated.

Quivira Wildlife Refuge
This leg of the journey was probably one of the most educational for yours truly. Despite having grown up somewhat engrossed in the natural habitat of this area, the GPS tour guide creatively told about local plants and wildlife from a Native American perspective through colorful stories and illustrations.

Detours to Hudson Flour Mill/ Historic Stafford Buildings
Before the tour concluded, the GPS provided me the opportunity to take a small detour from its guided route to visit the Hudson flour mill and the historic buildings in Stafford. This detour only added about 30 minutes to the total length of the tour, and was well worth the added time.

Great Bend
One of the most obviously advantageous parts of the guided tour became apparent when I was on the drive back to Great Bend from Stafford County. During this leg of the trip, the GPS provided all sorts of information about Great Bend's businesses, its attractions, and its culture. Video clips from events in Jack Kilby Square portray the community as lively and energetic, and descriptions of the area's architecture peaked my curiosity.

As I finally pulled back into town, I started to pay attention to many of the wonderful things the tour had mentioned: the quilt walk in Jack Kilby Square, the murals on the sides of downtown buildings, and the brickwork on the buildings. All of these have been here since long before I came into this world, but most had gone unnoticed.

I would encourage everyone, residents and visitors alike, to take advantage of this unique GPS tour guide system. Our community is the only one in the nation with a sophisticated byway tour guide system of this caliber, which wouldn't have been possible without the dedicated efforts of Cris Collier and the Great Bend Convention & Visitors Bureau. Having personally visited and enjoyed each of the stops on the tour, I am confident in saying that this technology has changed the way I perceive this community that I love so dearly. Let it change yours too...

By: Rachel Mawhirter, Great Bend Chamber Marketing Coordinator
Published in the July 2010 Edition of the Outlook Business Journal