Apparently people were confused about the name "Ironworld" for the Iron Range museum, research center and heritage park in Chisholm, so it's now officially known as the Minnesota Discovery Center.

Well, that should clear things up.

According to the Hibbing Daily Tribune, the facility opened in 1977 as the Iron Range Interpretive Center with 34 exhibits and a nominal admissions charge. The Hall of Geology was added in 1979, followed by the opening of the Research Center library and archives in 1980. People weren't crazy about that name, either, so it became Ironworld USA in 1984. Since then, it's been rebranded as Ironworld Discovery Center and then Ironworld.

Its goal is to offer interactive and interpreting exhibits and programming, but there was an 18-month shutdown in 1986. It reopened with a railroad, amphitheater, new admissions building and “festival park.”

But a strategic planning survey given last fall found that the Ironworld name was “of large concern to a great number of people," said CEO Mike Andrews.

Many thought Ironworld was too connected to government and politics, or suggested stagnant displays, or implies an amusement park such as Wally World -- and it can’t be easily found on the Internet because many think it’s two words, Andrews said.

“We also had so many logos, images, and missions separating the various venues and logos that we were confused about who we were,” said Andrews. “Now, we’re all just one — one name, one vision, one mission and one set of guiding principles — just one entity.”

“The new name allows us to celebrate and explore this region’s place in state history — as a center of industry, ingenuity and unique character,” said Jaye Olson, chair of the Ironworld Development Corp.

Officials admit there will be resistance to the change, and locals will probably continue to call it Ironworld, but they stress that whatever the name, it will still be about iron mining and the story of the Iron Range.