The Facility
Design
The building boasts a Great Hall, permanent and temporary exhibit galleries, classrooms, a gift shop, and a café.
Features
Great Hall
The 13,000-square-foot Great Hall welcomes and orients visitors to the interpretive center and the greater Mid-Columbia Basin. Glass walls reveal dramatic views of the Columbia River and interactive kiosks orient visitors geographically to Columbia Park West, the Hanford Reach National Monument, and the region.
Interpretive elements bring our visitors closer to the timeless movement of water, rock, plants, wildlife, and humans through the Columbia Basin environment. Sculptures, recordings and objects accent the rush of river rapids, the activities of native fishermen, and the sweep of winds over the shrub-steppe.
Café
A bistro-style café also features an outdoor patio for warm weather dining.
Columbia Storytelling Circle
This small amphitheatre of bench-framed lawn terrace seats is used for outdoor lectures and educational activities, especially for children. The Columbia Storytelling Circle provides broad views of the Columbia River.
Beauty & Inspiration
Garden Terrace
To further explore the setting, visitors can walk outdoors directly onto the terrace overlooking a shrub-steppe garden. This space offers an interpretation of the shrub-steppe ecosystem and identification of local geographic features and history.