Weber State faculty, alumni bring Great Salt Lake science to life at new Antelope Island visitor center
OGDEN, Utah — James Bustin, a 2026 Weber State University graduate in zoology, educates guests and runs productions at the Antelope Island State Park Visitor Center and Theater. Walking through his workplace, he presses a button in front of a mosaic featuring the island’s plants and animals. Birds, along with plants and animal species within their food webs, light up.
From across the room, each image looks like a photograph. However, they are actually incredibly detailed illustrations by WSU Assistant Professor of Art Kellie Bornhoft.
The park held a grand opening for the visitor center, which recently underwent a multi-year expansion, on Oct. 2. In addition to Bornhoft’s artwork, the facility includes other exhibits that WSU faculty contributed to with topics ranging from the island’s birds to its geology.
“A lot of the species are new to me,” said Bornhoft, who moved to Utah from California to teach at WSU. “So, it was a good way to be comfortable in my new eco home.”
Bornhoft was previously involved in a project called Wake the Great Salt Lake, which brought together artists and organizations to raise awareness of the lake’s declining levels. For that project, she created By a Thread, featuring illustrations of species at the lake on fabric that was made to fray. One of the species was Diplolaimelloides woaabi, a roundworm discovered by WSU assistant professor Julie Jung and a research team during her post-doctoral work.
While designing the visitor center experience, interpretive planner Becky Menlove requested additional illustrations from Bornhoft for the mosaic. Bornhoft has created 96 species illustrations total, 50 of which are displayed in the visitor center. All of them, however, are in the public domain and are used everywhere from conferences to high school classrooms.
After consulting with island stakeholders, researchers, educators, Antelope Island staff, and others, Menlove hired a team to make the visitor center feel like the start of an excursion on the island, inspiring guests to explore even further. “I’m not telling you a story. I’m not telling you what to think about,” she said of the design. “I’m just giving you the opportunity to be immersed in the idea that you’ve arrived at someplace really special.”
That experience may be different for schoolchildren than for the general public. “When a school group comes, they’ll enter through the Education Center entrance, and the first thing they’ll see is that big, giant mural of Kellie Bornhoft’s images turned into a mosaic,” Menlove said.
“I go out there all the time, and I get in the water, and I catch brine shrimp and look at them, and I take my kid, and we splash around. It’s one of my favorite places to go,” Bornhoft said about Antelope Island. She hopes her art helps viewers connect with an ecosystem they are a part of.
Aside from Bornhoft’s work, geologic samples and photos were donated by retired WSU professor Adolph Yonkee. One of Bornhoft’s students, Janika Linville, illustrated teaching resources that the visitor center staff use to educate K–12 classes.
Throughout the design process, WSU faculty provided feedback and ideas for the design of the facility, displays, and information provided.
WSU photographer Benjamin Zack’s work featuring faculty members Carie Frantz, Rebecka Brasso, and John Cavitt, along with their students, is on display.
Frantz has worked with students on the island to analyze the effects of the lake’s declining water levels and changing salinity. Brasso and her students have collected spiders and brine flies on the island to study how mercury from the lake enters the terrestrial food web.
Much of Cavitt’s research on the island has focused on the declining population of a pocket-sized shorebird that makes its home around the lake, the snowy plover.
“Back in 2023, I started bird banding with him,” Bustin said about researching with Cavitt.
Since then, Bustin has done his own research work on songbirds called lazuli buntings and Antelope Island’s California gulls. He soon plans to move to Canada to pursue a master’s degree. In his current role, he is reminded of WSU’s impact on the island.
Given the Great Salt Lake’s current water level, Bustin said visiting Antelope Island now is a great learning opportunity. “Hopefully, more people come out to the park,” he said.
Jaime Winston, Marketing & Communications
- Contact:
Rachel Badali, Public Relations Director
801-626-7948, rachelbadali@weber.edu