BENTONVILLE — Justin and Casey Bowman wore matching blue baseball caps emblazoned with the Walmart spark and slid their hands around a large screen.
The young brothers touched different areas of the map for information, told their mom how cool it was and talked excitedly about the new interactive displays in the Walmart Visitor Center on Saturday.
The Walmart Visitor Center officially opened at noon Saturday after an extensive remodeling that began June 7. The center, at 105 Main St., is the site of Sam Walton’s first five and dime store.
AT A GLANCE
Walmart Visitor Center
The Walmart Visitor Center is at 105 Main St. The center’s hours are 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.
Source: Staff Report
Justin and Casey joined hundreds of others to celebrate the opening of the center.
Casey, 7, said his favorite thing about the center is he could touch things and play with them. Justin, 10, agreed.
The center’s opening had two of Sam Walton’s children feeling a little nostalgic.
Alice Walton said the smell of fresh, buttery popcorn wafting from the farmers market on the square took her back to her childhood when she sold popcorn in front of the store. Jim Walton said he remembered carrying merchandise up and down stairs when he worked as a stock boy.
“The culture of this company is here in the visitor center and I think that’s the most important function the Walmart Visitor Center can serve,” said Jim Walton.
Walton’s 5-10 was fully restored and serves as the visitor center’s entrance. It is stocked with toys, candies and gifts that would have been sold when Sam Walton operated the store before opening the first Walmart in Rogers.
The visitor center has been remodeled to include several interactive displays and hands-on activity centers for children. There, visitors have the opportunity to learn about Walmart’s history as they walk through displays which serve as a timeline of the company’s milestones.
Carol Caldwel smiled and stared a photograph of her husband, Tim, mounted to one of the displays.
Tim was the visitor center’s first manager and Caldwel said she knew he would have been proud of all of the changes to the space.
“He would be so proud of this,” Caldwell said. “I have goosebumps walking through here. It is so nostalgic.”
Andrew Baker, 14, said that by touring the visitor center, he figured out what kind of car he wants when he is able to drive. The teenager said he wants a pickup just like Sam Walton’s 1979 Ford F150 on display in the center.
“It’s pretty cool,” Baker said.
The pickup is just as it was when Walton drove it, complete with dents, scratches and bite marks on the steering wheel left by Walton’s dog, Ol’ Roy.