Kansas City, Mo. — A task force appointed to help guide the future of Kansas City's historic but struggling Union Station says the building's management is on the right track.
Union Station's board of directors recently decided to add a railcar and rail memorabilia museum at the station, open a laboratory in Science City where visitors can watch the rebuilding of a dinosaur skeleton -- a camarasaur from Kansas University's Natural History Museum -- and reopen a planetarium.
The task force's preliminary report, released during a meeting Friday night, said its members felt those were good strategies. The group said the station needs a variety of entertainment and educational programs to appeal to as many visitors as possible.
Task force members also said they should bring in an expert to find other ways to use the building's space, such as shrinking the size of Science City.
"Union Station has great potential and will fulfill its mission to become Kansas City's high-energy front porch," said board chairman Ron Pressman.
The group will release its final report by the end of the year.
The building, built in 1914, is trying to eliminate operational deficits that have built up since it reopened in 1999 with the help of $118 million in sales taxes.
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