Schoolchildren look down from a skylight through a circling salmon mobile at the new Discovery Center at Rocky Reach Dam.
World file photo/Don Seabrook
Rocky Reach Discovery Center, which re-opened in 2021 after an extensive remodeling, has a little something for all ages. At the Discovery Center, you can learn all about hydroelectric power and the natural ecosystems that surround the Rocky Reach Dam.Â
The main floor has one of the three mini-theaters in the Discovery Center. There is also a cafe with stairs up to a deck, which has a brilliant view of the dam and fish ladder.
Chinook salmon swim the fish ladder at the Rocky Reach Dam Discovery Center.
World file photo/Loren Benoit
There's a round glass floor where visitors can walk and look down upon the spiral fish mobile underneath. This 14-foot tall fish mobile, which spans two floors, was designed by Pacific Studio in Seattle.
Over 100 salmon are on the spiral, all cut to represent the different types of salmon found in the mid-Columbia.
Descend down to lower level 1 and you'll see the living river area which shows how Native Americans lived in the area. Many of the artifacts came from the now closed Museum of the Columbia, including a tule house and canoe.
A hydropower know-how section includes a large floor mural of the northwest showing the Columbia River, all its tributaries and the dam locations on the river.
One sure-to-be-popular display is the Sternwheeler Video Game. You grab the wheel and see a video display of the Rock Island rapids. Now you try to steer your sternwheeler through the rapids, but there are obstacles, rapids, rocks and sandbars.
The fish-viewing area is on lower level 2. It has two large viewing windows where you can get a real good look at migrating fish.
There’s no railing so kids and adults can get right up to the fish viewing window.Â
Discuss the news on NABUR, a place to have local conversations The Neighborhood Alliance for Better Understanding and Respect ✔ A site just for our local community ✔ Focused on facts, not misinformation ✔ Free for everyone
