Upcoming Events and Programs at Your

Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum

Did you know that you can help scientists with their research projects? That’s what Citizen Science is all about! By taking this course, you’ll learn how to use your mobile phone to participate in exciting projects like identifying and tracking plant distribution, observing and recording bird migration patterns, and even studying the stars. 

A FREE event! Visitors can safely view the sun through telescopes with museum volunteer astronomers and education staff. Please keep in mind this free outdoor event is weather-dependent and does not include regular museum admission.

Additional Upcoming Events

• September 28: Harvest Moon Celebration (A Free Annual Family Event)
• October 14: Annual Auction Fundraiser Down by the Riverside
• October 26: Murder of Crows Fundraiser - A night of art & entertainment for adults
• October 28: Bugs and Birds - Kids activities and Halloween celebration
• November 4: Annual Columbia River Indian Autumn (A Free Annual Family Event)
• November 16: We host "Business After-Hours" with TD Chamber of Commerce!
• November 18: Archaeology Roadshow with Portland State University – A celebration of archaeology & cultural heritage

• Follow along for details about a November wine tasting

Current & Upcoming Exhibitions

Now through December 31 | "Four on the Forest Floor: Audubon’s Quadrupeds"

These lithographs of four-legged mammals across Noth America (drawn between 1849 and 1854) were one of his last projects.

January 2024 | "A Century of Wonder: 100 Years of Oregon State Parks"

Photographer Peter Marbach documented the beauty and geographic diversity found throughout Oregon’s natural spaces and state parks over two years.

Calling All Past, Present, & Future Volunteers!



Whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned volunteer ready to get back into the museum, we’re ready for your help. We’re looking for a variety of skills and backgrounds so reach out if you have extra time in your schedule and want to give back to our community. Some areas that often need volunteers include greeting guests in summer months, groundskeeping, raptor care, event staff, and collection inventory. Please email or call Lisa Commander at lisa@gorgediscovery.org or (541) 296-8600 ext. 202.

Words from Our Executive Director

Dear Members & Donors, 

We hope you are enjoying your summer and staying cool. 

While we admittedly have had challenges staying cool here, as the cooling portion of our HVAC system stopped functioning, we are working on getting repairs done ASAP. 

Our Board has provided significant support in the fundraising effort to restore the HVAC system; we have also launched a public fundraising campaign to support and match the Board’s funds. We thank you in advance for considering and providing additional support to us.

Our all-ages interactive space: the Explorer Room, continues to develop, thanks to several generous individual and group donors. We recently installed our live raptor camera and monitor to allow visitors to see what our bald eagles, Liberty and Ferguson, are up to at any moment. A stunning mural of the Columbia River Gorge, in the form of magnetic panels, will allow visitors of all ages to add flora and fauna magnets to personalize the scene. Finally, we’re adding information inside the museum about the birds of prey in the raptor program in English and Spanish. 

Our latest exhibition is Four on the Forest Floor His Last Project: John Audubon’s Quadrupeds 1849-1854. In the 1830s, as renowned naturalist and artist John James Audubon, completed the final plates for his monumental Birds of America series, he and his sons began to gather material for his second and equally ambitious undertaking. Planning to complete the definitive study of American wildlife, Audubon set out to document the animals of North America and present them in a format as impressive as he had used for his birds. The result of his years of field research, travel, and seemingly endless study was the Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, the 19th century’s seminal work on American animals. Quadrupeds was the most successful sizeable color-plate book produced in America in the 19th century. These animal subjects (some of which are now extinct) also feature beautifully detailed backgrounds, sometimes with native foliage and other naturalistic details. The exhibition will run through December 31st; we hope to see you there!

We thank you, every one of our members and donors, for your sustained support of our programs and activities. The generosity of our community is so impressive; we cannot thank you enough for your support and are so grateful – thank you.

We are also so thankful for the support of our dedicated volunteers. 

If you live in the area and are interested in supporting our work in collections, raptor care, learning programs, development, and so on, please reach out to Lisa Commander, our Director of Learning & Engagement, who manages the volunteer program: lisa@gorgediscovery.org. 

We hope to see you soon, and thank you for your continued involvement and support. 

With deepest thanks and gratitude,

Laura Matzer

Mews News

Normal Abnormalities

By Morgan Olson

When talking about raptors, birds, or any other critter, I like to remind the listeners that I can only speak about what happens in general. I consistently use words that my writing teachers and professors would cross out, a note in red ink reminding me that such weasel words will only weaken my argument. They have a point.

Consider the following statement: I expect we’ll probably see some news report at some point about a Bald Eagle raising a Red-tailed Hawk in its nest. 

It’s a completely true statement about an event that happens nearly every year. But it is still not a normal situation. It is an expected unexpected event. And yet it happens. But not always.

Sometimes a female Bald Eagle will have two males with her. Sometimes a Red-tailed Hawk will go fishing. Sometimes a Spotted Owl will breed with a Barred Owl, the offspring is called a Sparred Owl.

Sometimes the world continues to surprise us in expected unexpected ways. Who are we to tell a Bald Eagle that it’s not allowed to become a foster parent? But maybe you’ll be the one who can tell the world about the event. However, you’ll only notice such a special event as long as you Keep Your Eyes to the Skies!

William G. Dick Research Library

Our FREE library includes over 1,300 books, files, DVDs, and media covering all aspects of the Gorge. This includes Native American history, pioneers, Oregon Trail, recent history, genealogy, plants & animals, salmon, geology, use of the river, and local history of Wasco County as well as information about neighboring counties.

We even have a massive collection of The Dalles Steelhead Yearbooks like this one form 1922.

Explorer Room Remodel Finishing Touches

With the Live Eagle Cam and Denae’ Manion's 20+ foot mural almost finished, the last installments of our Explorer Room remodel are coming along nicely.

Annual memberships are vital to our success in carrying out our mission.

Thank you for your continued support.