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Flowing through the Four Corners area is a river of tourists that Leanne Hathcock wants to dip into with a high-tech hook.

The hook, if funds can be found, would be a new building in the northwestern New Mexico town of Aztec.

It would come stuffed with digital information about the area's culture, ancient astronomy and modern science. Its name: Four Corners Center for Universe Studies.

"We want to enhance the Four Corners experience through a digital format," said Hathcock, leader on the project's proposal and director of the Aztec Public Library. "Then when they (tourists) visit all these parks in this region, they have a better understanding of it."

The center would include information on space exploration and astronomy.

It would also preserve American Indian stories under threat of being lost, she said. Its proposed multimedia content could include animations of American Indian tales from the area.

That work would be helped along by the University of New Mexico LodeStar Astronomy Center and students in the school's program in digital arts.

It would also bring a boost to the economies of Aztec and the region by giving tourists another reason to spend their time and money in the area, she explained.

She estimates half a million annual visitors go through Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado. She put the number at 55,000 for Chaco Canyon National Historical Park. The Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec annually gets 46,000. Utah's chunk of the Four Corners gets about 2.5 million annual visits, she said.

"Because we're right in the middle of all this, we could really pull in some significant traffic," she said. "More than likely it would help to enhance the Four Corners experience because you would have more things to do and see."

The project, being pushed ahead by the city of Aztec and community partners, still needs money.

Hathcock expects it to cost between $3 million and $4 million. She said some of the money might come from grants pursued through the Aztec Public Library, because the center would be considered part of the library's operations.