CREHST - Exhibits
Columbia River Exhibition of Science, History & Technology
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Exhibits

Temporary Exhibits

Pioneers in Richland

In commemoration of Richland’s 100th anniversary the Education Department is currently presenting an exhibit on early life in the Columbia Valley. Complete with pioneer storefronts, the exhibit boasts several unique antiques, tools of the trade and shocking authentic advertising. Come see the Harness Makers Shop, the Richland Irrigated Lands Company and the Hat Shop with unique Victorian fashions! Showing now through September.


Melvin the Elk

Elk were first discovered on Fitzner/Eberhardt Arid Land Ecology (ALE) Reserve in 1972. The ALE includes 120 square miles of wild shrub-steppe lands along the eastern face of Rattlesnake Mountain. Researchers believe this herd was part of a small band that migrated from their traditional wintering grounds along the slopes of the Cascade mountain range. Most returned to the Cascades in the spring, but a few remained on ALE, becoming the founders of a new herd.

Melvin was a bull elk born in 1978. He lived his entire life on the ALE. He was captured when he was 4 years old and fitted with a radio transmitter collar. Every 3 years he was recaptured to replace transmitter batteries. The collar allowed researchers to keep track of his location and locate his antlers, which were shed annually.

Melvin died in the winter of 1995-96. His story and collected antlers are on display at CREHST.


Permanent Exhibits

Science Lab Exhibition

Science Lab presents the wonders of cutting-edge science right at visitors' fingertips. From intelligent touch screen computers to interactive labs throughout the exhibit, there's something for everyone: launch an object with a catapult, power a motor with your bare hands, solve math problems using a life-sized Abacus, and more! This exhibit also includes a mammoth tusk, a mammoth vertebra, and part of the oldest fossilized deer in America. A short Ice Age Flood video is a repeating feature on a flat screen television.

Some of the area's premier local science community have added interesting elements to the exhibition. This exhibit also includes the Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory's model of a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory's (LIGO's) interactive model of a laser interferometer, and Energy Northwest's model of a wind generator.

Exhibit list:

Ice Age Flood Video
Mammoth Bones
Animal Skulls
Newton's Cradle
Nebula Plasma Ball
LIGO Interferometer
Buzzer-Battery Circuit Dexterity Tester
Four Stroke Engine		 Abacus
Wimhursts Generator
Audio Lab
Van de Graaf Generator
Low-Level Radioactive Waste Sample
WTP Virtual Experience
NMR
Wind Turbine

BOOMERS ON WHEELS ©

1940s Trailer Living in the Tri-Cities

This outdoor exhibit features an original 1940s trailer from the North Richland construction camp. During and following World War II, small silver trailers offered less than 150 square feet of living space to accommodate an average of 3.7 people. The trailers were designed as travel trailers, but because of a severe housing shortage, many people brought their trailers with them. When completed, the Hanford Construction Camp included more than 3600 spaces and was the world's largest trailer camp. Trailers, in addition to barracks, brought the total camp population to about 51,000 people.

With the Cold War construction boom another trailer camp was constructed in North Richland and grew to include more than 2200 spaces. Originally spaces were plotted as 40 foot squares but later were shrunk to 25' by 40'. Bathhouses were provided as they were at Camp Hanford.

Like most trailers from this period, this trailer has kitchen, living room, bedroom but no bathroom. It was the property of Zane Mayberry who bought the trailer from a Mr. Hill who lived in it in North Richland. After his father's death, Ron Mayberry, donated the trailer to CREHST.

When you visit CREHST, ask to see the video Camp Hanford, The World's Largest Trailer Park. See the video list below for more details

Tours inside the trailer are available with prior arrangement.

Title, 1970 © Ted Van Arsdol

Hanford Archives Photo Exhibition

Poster

 

Discover how Hanford was involved in WWII.Visit CREHST and view a selection from our collection of rarely seen photos from 1940s Hanford and Richland. See close-ups and aerials of the Hanford construction camp; from interior and exterior views of the camp bank to photos of teen-agers dancing inside their Hi Spot Club. This exhibit also includes photos of Hanford mess halls and mess hall dining, a pay-wagon distributing employee paychecks, and much more.

Photos in this exhibit are drawn from our large archive. The size and location of the exhibit will occasionally change.

Lewis and Clark - Scientists in Buckskin

Nearly 200 years ago, the Corps of Volunteers for Northwest Discovery, more commonly known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition, traveled through the Snake and Columbia River Basins, searching for answers in the uncharted territory of the West. The Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science and Technology (CREHST) museum offers an overview of the expedition in our exhibit Lewis & Clark: Scientists in Buckskin to share the story of these intrepid explorers and the science behind the great expedition.

An expanded look at the Lewis & Clark expedition can be found on the Lewis and Clark Trail website.

Geological History of the Northwest

Expanded Mural and Exhibit

CREHST is proud to showcase an expanded mural of Northwest Geology showing the Cascade volcanic activity and its relationship to the Northwest junction of the continental and oceanic plates. Dr. Stephen Reidel provided scientific material for the artwork by Cynthia Shaw. A new, Hands-On Pacific Northwest rock display accompanies the mural, showing where and how the rocks were formed. Reproductions of the mural are available in our gift shop. Cynthia's website displays more of her work and provides the opportunity to order large quantities of the mural.

Fish Species of the Columbia River

You can view the multitude of fish species that call the Columbia River system home. As you descend the stairway from the lobby at CREHST, you'll take a figurative trip down into the Columbia River and have the chance to examine detailed models of these many different fish, created by CREHST's Museum Designer, Jim Martin. Many of these fish are life-size!

More information on Columbia River fish is available at the Richland Public Library. A bibliography is available.

Hanford Site

The history of a large, secret project and one of three "Secret Cities" creating a new element to help win WWII is depicted with actual materials and exhibits. Continued production through the Cold War era is presented through displays, hand-on experiences, and operating tools used in the production of plutonium. Current and future efforts to clean up the legacy of plutonium production demonstrate the high price to both our pocketbooks and our environment that we paid for victory.

The history of Hanford is depicted in several exhibits, including

Signs of the Times

It was 1991 when several hundred historical signs were found in a pit located on the Hanford site. These signs date back to the dawn of the Atomic Age. The splitting of the atom, and the unleashing of its enormous power ranks among man's most momentous achievements. Hanford and the Tri-Cities had a key role in it. Several of these original signs are now on permanent exhibit. One of the signs is a profile of Hitler. This sign hung on the outside of the Savings Bond building.

These signs are among the very few tangible items from Hanford's early days that show what life was like back then.

Related items . . .

ABC Homes: the Houses that Hanford Built

Richland's "Alphabet Houses," designed by a regional architect and built by the federal government to house Hanford workers during and after WWII, are now recognized as important architectural and historical accomplishments. Seldom was a city conjured from the dust the way that Richland was, nor has there often been as coordinated a design for living as Richland with its groups of "Alphabet Houses" lending character to the neighborhoods.

Visitors can see plans and photographs of houses built during World War II, the interwar period and the Korean War. The houses were assigned according to work classifications: from blue collar workers to top DuPont management. In addition to the alphabet houses, prefabricated houses were built to accommodate part of the huge influx of workers that was greater than initially planned.

Dupus Boomer makes a comeback to provide colorful commentary on how housing and working was for Richland residents during World War II and the Cold War. Dupus was a cartoon character who came to life in 1945 and provided comic relief to the stark environment in which the early Hanford workers and their families found themselves. Many early cartoons have been incorporated into the ABC House exhibit and provide a social history not found anywhere else. When you visit CREHST, ask to see the video Alphabet Homes, The Story of Richland, See the video list below for details.

More information on ABC houses is available at the Richland Public Library. A bibliography is available.

Videos

A wide selection of videos may be viewed during your visit to CREHST. You are invited to come in and watch some of the more than 100 videos in the CREHST library including the history of the Hanford Site, the geology of the Columbia Basin, the Native Americans who lived in this area, to topics relating to the environment, science, and technology and all on a 10 foot by 10 foot screen! These videos are suitable for visitors age ten and older.

A wide selection of other videos may be viewed during your visit to CREHST.

Upcoming Exhibits

Women's Sufferage in Washington State

CREHST Museum is proud to host a new exhibit from the Washington State Historical Society. This year, 2010, the State of Washington celebrates the 100th anniversary of when most Washington women permanently achieved the right to vote or “suffrage.” Equal Rights for Washington Women by historian Shanna Stevenson, author of Women's Votes, Women’s Voices, is the story of women's suffrage in Washington. Washington women had voted from 1883 to 1888, but their voting rights were revoked by the Washington Territorial Supreme Court. Washington’s victory in 1910 was a pivotal event in the campaign which culminated in the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920 enacting women’s suffrage nationally. The exhibit further describes how Washington women with the vote have continued the struggle for equal rights. Join CREHST October –December as we celebrate the centennial of Washington Suffrage!


History of the Hanford Reach
The Lloyd Wiehl Collection: Paintings by Don Crook

This collection is shown several times during the year. Call the museum to see if it on display when you plan on visiting.

"David Thompson" a Northwest Company explorer flying the British flag, passes through the Hanford Reach on July 8, 1811, in this Don Crook painting.

The Hanford Reach history reflects back to the coming of man to the Northwest. This stretch of the mighty Columbia River has a rich heritage that has been chronicled by the Wiehl family. Lloyd Wiehl, who grew up on this land, has compiled a pictorial record that preserves the character of the Reach. In order to bring this project to life, Wiehl commissioned nationally known artist and illustrator Don Crook to paint a series of eight paintings. Working together, Wiehl and Crook have created a visual trip through the past of the Columbia River, centering around an area known as White Bluffs.

CREHST is extremely proud to present this special collection of eight paintings showing the history of the Columbia Reach, painted by Don Crook, who is known as "The Norman Rockwell of Western Art". Mr. Crook collaborated on this series with Judge Lloyd Wiehl, who was born at White Bluffs, Washington, in 1909, a descendant of the first white family to settle on the Hanford Reach. Judge Wiehl has, for many years, documented the lives and surroundings of the people who lived in the Reach area for centuries before the Manhattan Project displaced them all. With that displacement and decades long exclusion, the Reach has been preserved in a near pristine condition as part of the Hanford Reservation. Judge Wiehl says, "I have fond memories of my life in this area. The paintings portray a rich and eventful heritage of the Hanford Reach and are based on recorded events and photos."

More information on the history of the time covered by this exhibit is available at the Richland Public Library. A bibliography is available.