Weekend outing just up or down 243

As a I toured the Wanapum Dam Visitor Center at its grand opening last week, I wasn’t thinking about all the people who will come to visit. Those who won’t come were on my mind.

I can’t count the times I’ve heard the expression: “There’s nothing to do around here.” It only seems that way because you fail to look.

The two obvious places to visit are the Wanapum Heritage Center at Priest Rapids Dam and the Wanapum Dam Visitors Center. They were designed and built just for you.

Heritage Center is larger and would probably take longer to tour. But the Visitor Center is not small. You can spend half day or longer to experience everything, especially if you bring your children.

I was particularly interested in a busload of children brought to the grand opening by the Ephrata schools. They were polite, respectful and quiet during the speeches at a conference center.

But after Grant County PUD Commission Chairman Dale Walker cut the ceremonial ribbon, the kids poured into the center and the quiet turned to a chatty buzz. This is the kind of center that will make kids do that.

Some of the exhibits are strictly educational, like the four videos you can select from at the first exhibit. Some of the exhibits are hands-on. You can operate a dam at one of them.

There is even one exhibit that is feet-on. It is shaped like a bike, but it’s stationary and produces power. You can see power production go up a lighted pole as the pedaler pedals faster, sort of like the bell pole at the sledge hammer contest at old country fairs.

The Visitor Center is in the last building on the left as you approach the dam. The Heritage Center is to the right of the road that leads from Highway 243 to Priest Rapids Dam. It was dedicated in September.

The Heritage Center has more space and more exhibits than the visitor center. Although it focuses on the history and lives of the Wanapum people, it was built for everyone to see.

The Wanapum Heritage Center presents, maintains, and continues the Wanapum history and way of life. Visitors to the museum can steer a steamboat, view historical artifacts or watch videos of Wanapum history, the Columbia River, and more.

In an agreement signed in 1956, the GCPUD promised to maintain and protect the Wanapum way of life. Today this agreement is alive through the Wanapum Heritage Center.

This no small local museum. There is a lot of history of the region, native and European, and it is presented in technologically modern, artistically attractive exhibits.

There are some exhibits that will knock your socks off.

You could make a weekend out of the two centers. You could also make a weekend of the Heritage Center alone.

So there you are: Two things to do around here. It’s a little cool now for a picnic, but there are eateries in Mattawa and Desert Aire.

Next spring, make it a complete weekend with picnics. Both centers have ample parking and park areas.