UNION CITY, Tenn. - An official at the Discovery Park of America says the West Tennessee museum and education venue had strong attendance in its first weekend.

Mary Nita Bondurant, marketing director for Discovery Park, says the new tourist attraction in Union City drew 4,300 visitors in its first three days of being open.

Bondurant said the museum, which opened last Friday, has been averaging several hundred visitors per day this week, adding to the weekend total. A research firm has projected Discovery Park can expect around 150,000 visitors a year.

With its curved exteriors and 120-foot observation tower, the museum houses exhibits about natural and regional history, dinosaurs, Native Americans, energy, transportation, science, the military and space flight - kind of like a mini-Smithsonian Institution.