Your Fee Dollars at Work

Duration:

2 minutes, 2 seconds

Learn how the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) has helped create Lowell National Historical Park's newest exhibit, One City, Many Cultures!

Learn more about the FLREA program here.

 

Thank you for supporting your public lands! The National Park Service collects Recreation Fees under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA), providing a vital source of revenue for improving facilities and services for park visitors. All of these visitor-funded projects are important to the continued preservation of your national parks.

Of the more than 400 national parks in the National Park System, only 108 charge an entrance fee. The current Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) allows the National Park Service to collect and retain revenue and requires that fee revenue is used to enhance visitor experience. At least 80 percent of funding from recreation fees stays in the park where it is collected, and the other 20 percent is used to benefit parks that do not collect fees or parks which generate only a small amount of revenue.

These projects were funded by the 20 percent of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act funds to enhance the visitor experience at Lowell National Historical Park.

 

Learn about the many communities of Lowell

Paul Richardson

One City, Many Cultures Exhibit

Opened in September 2023, the One City, Many Cultures exhibit explores the stories and cultures of people in Lowell from the past and the present. After a five-year long process that involved regular input from community round table members, Lowell National Historical Park was able to use funding from the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to bring these stories to the forefront. Visitors can now visit this new exhibit to learn not only about the historic impact that the diverse population has had on the Lowell, but how those traditions and communities have shaped the city in the modern day.

 

Audio-Visual Upgrades at the Boott Cotton Mills Museum, Events Center, and Visitor Center

Lowell National Historical Park has updated audio-visual systems in the theater spaces at the Visitor Center and the Boott Cotton Mills Museum as well as in the Events Center. This upgrade in technology has made all the park films more enjoyable to experience with 5.1 surround sound. Included in this project is also an update to accessiblity technology that allows visitors to expereince the various films in whatever form best suits them.

 

Interactive Museum Elements at the Boott Cotton Mills Museum

This project enhanced the visitor experience and provided greater accessibility through new interactive exhibits on the second floor of the Boott Cotton Mills Museum. These new elements now allow visitors to learn and understand the stories of Lowell in fun, hands-on ways. Open 7-days a week, visitors to the Boott Cotton Mills Museum can experience these elements while learning about plantation agriculture, mechanized cotton cloth manufacturing, and the socialization of workers via automated factory production.