CULTURE

Columbia River Maritime Museum

Learn the stories of the brave souls who successfully (and not) have navigated the river.

By Audrey Van Buskirk
Columbia River Maritime Museum (Columbia River Maritime Museum)

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1792 Marine Drive, Astoria, 503-325-2323, crmm.org. 9:30 am–5 pm daily. Adults $18, seniors $15, children 6-17 $8, 5 and under free.

Informative, hands-on, and interactive exhibits explain why the Columbia River Bar is one of the world’s most dangerous waterways. At this well-designed riverside museum, learn the stories of the brave souls who successfully (and not) have navigated the river in everything from dugout canoes to sailing ships, tugboats, and giant container ships. Special exhibits focus on severe weather, shipwrecks and fishing.

Don’t miss: The tour of the floating lighthouse, the Lightship Columbia (open 11 am–3 pm daily) outside the main museum on the wharf.

Will kids like it? Visit on a summer Saturday from noon to 2 pm and they’ll love racing their crafts in the model boat pond. A 3D theater screens family-friendly nature films.

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Audrey Van Buskirk

Audrey Van Buskirk

Audrey Van Buskirk first worked on Willamette Week Summer Guides when no one could escape the “Macarena” and Michael Keaton was still Batman. She once won a Portland Know-It-All contest, which led to her ongoing vocation to make suggestions on everything from restaurants and footwear to reading, writing, and adventure.

Willamette Week reports the stories worth knowing, from City Hall to the people and places shaping Portland.

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