Tag Archives: Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center

Entertainment, Events, Places to See

Laser show starts tonight

For the first time since the coronavirus shut everything down, the Bureau of Reclamation will open the Visitor Center and display the Laser Light Show at Grand Coulee Dam.

The Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center and laser light show will begin on Saturday in time for Memorial Day weekend. 

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced the re-opening for the visitor center and the “One River, Many Voices” laser light show in a statement May 19.

“To safely re-open the visitor center and return the laser light show, Reclamation will be following the recommended guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” the release states. “Fully vaccinated visitors are no longer required to wear a mask.”

“The health and safety of the public and our employees remains our number one priority,” said Grand Coulee Power Manager Coleman Smith. “We recognize the visitor center and laser light show are important to the Grand Coulee community and beyond. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding with the new safety guidelines we have in place.”

The visitor center will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.

The laser light show will begin at 10 p.m. from May 29 through July 31. Beginning on Aug. 1, it will start at 9:30 p.m., and for the month of September it will start at 8:30 p.m.

Dam tours will not take place this year due to the inability to social distance during parts of the tour.

https://www.grandcoulee.com/story/2021/05/26/news/laser-show-and-visitor-center-open-this-saturday/14205.html

Events, Soon

Kids Fest happens this Saturday

 

Kid-powered boat
Kids power a peddle boat during the 2013 Koulee Kids Fest in the Grand Coulee Dam Area

Kids, mark Saturday, June 20, on your calendars.

That’s the day the 11th Annual Kids Fest occurs in the coulee area.

Start by picking up your passport and map from a variety of places — Saturday Market at North Dam Park, Coulee Hardware or the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center.  It’s your ticket to a day of fun and adventure — and potential prizes.

Bring your passport with six or more stamps on it to the Grand Theatre on Grand Coulee’s Main Street for a performance by juggler-comedian-yoyo man Curtis Carlyle ( a 60-minute performance) with prizes awarded afterward.

During the day, kids can take advantage of many fun things to do, all organized and presented by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce.

Ride a pedal boat

Catch a fish from a large fish tank.

Sit inside a real MedStar helicopter.

Tour the inside of a fire truck.

Romp in a bubble station.

Play disc golf.

Create beautiful chalk artwork.

Build your own dam.

Vote for your favorite Coulee Cruizers car.

Play a round of miniature golf.

Get free ice cream and cookie.

And at the end of the day make it to the thrilling Curtis Carlyle performance at 3 p.m. Winners must be present and ages 12 and under to win.

See you Saturday, June 20, for the 11th annual Koulee Kids Fest.

Places to See, To Dos, Uncategorized

The Visitor Center offers interactive fun

jackhammer
This kid thought the vibrating jackhammer was great fun.

The Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The bottle-cap-shaped building below the dam offers new exhibits designed to entertain and educate with interactive features, such as the jackhammer above. A video game lets you fly right through the dam to explore its features. Hands-on generators let you light up a miniature grid, and you can see the workings of the hydropower units.

One activity needs three to five people (perfect for a family) who sit at a table and listen to the concerns (via prerecorded video) of the many and varied people with interests affected by how the Columbia River is operated. As each player votes on various decisions, the overall plan changes and you’ll find out what your preferences did to the other parties’ interests.

It’s a great Visitor Center with knowledgeable interpreters, plus frequent movies in an upstairs theater to explain history and functions of this multipurpose dam.

For more information, call (509) 633-9265.

Places to See, To Dos

High-tech Treasure Hunt Offered at Grand Coulee and two other Columbia River Dams

 

Grand Coulee Dam holds back the mighty Columbia River in the lake we call Roosevelt.

Visitors to three Columbia River dams, including Grand Coulee, can join in on a high-tech educational treasure hunt that could earn them a special patch simply by taking part in the “D3 Geocache Challenge” beginning May 27 and continuing through Labor Day.

The visitor centers at Bureau of Reclamation’s Grand Coulee Dam; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Chief Joseph Dam; and the Chelan County Public Utility District’s Rocky Reach Dam will be the starting point to discover the hidden treasures of hydropower production and other essential facts about the role large dams play in the Pacific Northwest.

Geocaching uses GPS (global positioning system) devices GPS-capable smartphones to find a “cache” or treasure box containing educational information and a prize. It’s great fun and can lead you on many adventures, including this one, which offers even more to see when you find the cache at Grand Coulee Dam, and amazing tour all by itself.

For those completing all three geocaches at Grand Coulee, a special prize awaits at the visitor center.  Those wanting to win the D3 Geocache Challenge patch must visit all three dams and complete all the caches.

Each visitor center will hide three or four caches on their grounds, for educational purposes.

“This is a great opportunity for visitors to have some fun exploring these areas while also winning a special patch showing that they met the challenge,” said Lynne Brougher, Grand Coulee Dam public affairs officer.

The fun starts when participants receive a “D3 Challenge Passport” along with GPS coordinates at each visitor center and follow the coordinates to locate at least three or four geocache sites at each dam. Each site will consist of a box containing an educational activity sheet. Remember to bring a pen or pencil to complete the activity sheet.

Participants will record answers to questions they learned while touring the dams and return the completed sheets to the visitor center to have their “passport” stamped and earn a prize.  Questions can include facts about hydropower production, irrigation, flood control or recreation.

Tour guides will be on hand to explain the D3 Challenge and assist participants in getting started on their adventure, Brougher said.
For more information call the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center at (509) 633-9265.