It is sited on a small rise that overlooks the meadows and canyon of the Madison River, and still fulfills its function as an informal interpretive center.

[3] The museum was designed by National Park Service architect Herbert Maier and was funded by a portion of a $118,000 grant from Laura Spelman Rockefeller for educational projects in Yellowstone.

[3] Maier was assisted by Carl Parcher Russell, a Park Service field naturalist, and the president of the American Association of Museums, Hermon Carey Bumpus.

A south-facing window was fitted with a transparency depicting the imagined event, created by local photographer Jack Haynes.

A twenty-year internal debate ended with Haines' vindication and the Madison museum became a visitor information station, stripped of its shrine status.