HUTCHINSON, Kan. – As preparations begin for the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center to embark upon its recently announced major plan for revitalization, current Director of Education Tom Holcomb will assume responsibility of a newly created position at the Cosmosphere. In his new role as Director of Visitor Experience, Holcomb will oversee customer service and visitor experiences at the Cosmosphere, fostering an institutional mindset of providing exceptional experiences for all visitors – including the creation of training materials and workshops for all front line employees.

Holcomb will also be responsible for customer service and training, working with the COO and Marketing on the selection of new documentaries, feature films and alternative programming in the theater. Additionally, box office staffing, training and development; booking school and group programs while working with Education and other appropriate departments to insure all groups are treated in an exceptional manner; facility rental oversight; and responsibility for growth, recruitment and preparation for a well-trained and engaged Cosmosphere volunteer base are included in Holcomb’s new area of responsibility.

Holcomb, who has been employeed at the museum for 17 years, completed a Bachelor of Science in Education at Sterling College in 1996 and began working at the Cosmosphere in 1997 where he developed the Hall of Space Tour Guidebook and training procedures for tour guides.  He assumed additional responsibilities for programming delivery in Dr. Goddard’s Lab and the Justice Planetarium before joining the Education Department as the Program Manager for the renowned Cosmosphere camp, Future Astronaut Training Program (FATP). In 2009, Holcomb was promoted to the position of Director of Education and assumed overall responsibility for educational programs at the Cosmosphere.