Great Falls Discovery Center

by Jeremy Stevens

A lot of our inspiration and research came from the Great Falls Discovery Center (GFDC). It has an exhibit for each of our animals that we looked at during the start of our project. The live-size animal models are placed in a mural background that looks like the environment that you are most likely to see them living in. When you walk into certain places it sets off motion censors that make the actual sounds you would hear in that type of environment.

Right when you walk in, there is a huge map. It isn’t just any map. It comes right out of the floor! It is a model of the entire Connecticut River watershed. There are buttons to press that turn on lights to show where landmarks and important places are along the Connecticut River. Under those buttons are the descriptions of what the light is marking.

On the walls are even more things to look at when you are checking out the exhibits. They have timelines put up showing different events that have happened that had to do with the Connecticut River . One of them is about what the floods did and the dams they had to build. There are other timelines like this throughout the museum. Be sure to look at them all!

As you continue through the exhibits, you'll see that they have some more real life types of environments here. There is a section of aquatic tanks to look at. There you will find a variety of local fish. The very front of the GFDC is what I would call the main attraction.

<<< photo; greatfallsma.org

Go on your own journey by visiting us at: 2 avenue A, Turners Falls, MA The GFDC is a collaborative partnership between the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Conservation and Recreation

Bibliography

"Great Falls Discovery Center", designer@mossbrook.com, date unknown, http://www.greatfallsma.org/

Personal interview with, Susan Russo of US Fish and Wildlife Service on 4/11/07