World Forestry Center / Discovery Museum, Portland

The World Forestry Center’s Discovery Museum examines the relationship between forests, people and everyday life through two floors of displays. Hands-on exhibits introduce forest ecology, conservation, wildfire, timber production and changing approaches to land management. Visitors can explore regional environments, compare forests from different parts of the world and consider how trees support wildlife, water systems and human communities.

The organisation traces its roots to the Forestry Building created for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition. After that structure was destroyed by fire in 1964, the present museum opened in 1971. Designed by Oregon architect John Storrs, the building demonstrates timber craftsmanship through sloping roofs, carved posts, Douglas-fir beams, cedar panelling and floors made from end-grain wood blocks.

Notable objects include “Peggy,” a 42-ton geared logging locomotive that visitors can climb aboard, and a five-million-year-old petrified tree stump weighing about 10,000 pounds. A second-floor gallery presents changing exhibitions in which contemporary artists examine forests, climate and culture. The combination of interactive science, industrial history, architecture and art makes the museum suitable for families as well as adults interested in environmental questions.