Thanksgiving Point, Educational complex and botanical garden in Lehi, Utah.

Thanksgiving Point is an educational complex with botanical gardens spanning 55 acres and combining themed gardens, museums, and learning facilities in one place. The site brings together natural sciences, history, and agricultural exploration in a connected experience.

Thanksgiving Point was founded in 1995 by Karen Jackman Ashton and Alan C. Ashton, who co-founded WordPerfect. After WordPerfect sold to Novell in 1994, Alan bought farmland in Lehi and gave it to Karen on February 14, 1995. The institute became a 501(c)(3) in 1997, and Farm Country opened in 1996 as the first public venue.

The name Thanksgiving Point was chosen to express gratitude, and the site is run by a non-profit institute. Its calendar includes a spring tulip festival, a seasonal corn maze and a holiday lights event called Luminaria. Utah State University master gardener volunteers teach community horticulture courses such as square foot gardening and perennial landscape design.

The grounds divide into five main sections: Ashton Gardens, Butterfly Biosphere, Farm Country, Museum of Ancient Life, and Museum of Natural Curiosity. Visitors can explore all areas or focus on specific attractions that interest them most.

The Museum of Ancient Life was planned with a group of Utah paleontologists and holds one of the world's largest collections of mounted fossil casts. Its exhibits were designed to take specimens out of cases and place them in a walk-through setting, including a travel-through-time dinosaur walk in a 30,000-square-foot hall.