About Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum

Situated on a 54-acre plot of land near the Columbia River, Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum chronicles thousands of years of the area’s natural and cultural history. The 48,200-square-foot facility—which received an American Institute of Architects Honor Award—features interactive and multimedia exhibits that let guests study everything from the volcanic activity and floods that created the gorge to its wildlife. Guests can stand in the shadow of a life-size, 13-foot mammoth in the Ice Age exhibit or hide from its intimidating tusks under a canvas tent modeled after the one used by Lewis and Clark.

As the official interpretive center of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic area, the center celebrates the area’s indigenous flora and fauna while working to preserve them. Five acres of indigenous plants host turtles, ducks, geese, songbirds, and other native wildlife, on which guests spy as they stroll through the nature walk. At the raptor exhibit, visitors can come face-to-beak with various birds of prey, including a bald eagle, a great horned owl, and a red-tailed hawk. The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum hosts frequent educational programs and tour groups that detail ways to protect the area’s biodiversity without having to marry a tree.