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Pacific Northwest Marine & Natural Science

Washington and Oregon offer outstanding marine and natural science education opportunities. Let Travel Adventures prepare a custom itinerary that focuses on your science curriculum and includes hands-on learning experiences.

Mt. St. Helens | Student travel services from Travel Adventures for student group travel

Travel Adventures will design a custom science education itinerary in Oregon and Washington that includes visits to the Columbia River Valley, Mt. St. Helens, the Olympic Peninsula, and the Pacific ocean Along the way your science students will experience science museums, kayaking, whale watching, and nature hikes.

Travel Adventures can create a customized itinerary designed to meet the educational needs of your student group!

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Oregon
Washington

Bonneville Dam

Touring student groups will view native fish life in the underwater viewing station and learn about the dam operations at the powerhouse. Upon request, student groups may also participate in an interpretive presentation which focuses on area fish, hydropower, navigation and geology.

Hatfield Marine Science Center

Oregon's Hatfield Marine Science Visitor Center creates a unique, dynamic environment for lifelong exploration and the study of marine science.

International Rose Test Garden

One of Portland’s best kept secrets, the International Rose Test Garden is the oldest operating public rose garden in the United States. The garden contains 10,000 plantings of 550 different rose varieties.

Magness Memorial Tree Farm

This beautiful 80 acre property has a large natural area of Douglas fir trees, a small stream, and nine comparative forest management zones. The farm also has 2.5 miles of hiking trails and a 60-foot fire lookout tower.

Marine Discovery Tour

Student visitors on the Marine Discovery Tour will board a boat that takes them along the Oregon coast where they can view the gray whales, harbor porpoise, seals, sea lions, pelicans, bald eagles and the abundance of marine birds. The tour boat also has a naturalist and an onboard video microscope.

Multonmah Falls

Plummeting 620 feet from its origins on Larch Mountain, Multnomah Falls is the second highest year-round waterfall in the U.S. Your science students will cross the Benson Bridge, crafted by Italian stone masons, between the lower and upper cataracts and be thrilled at the sights and sounds of the magnificent falls.

Nye Beach

Historic Nye Beach seaside neighborhood retains some of the charm of its history in a warm, friendly village atmosphere. Students can visit the shops, restaurants, and art galleries.

Oregon Coast Aquarium

The Oregon Coast Aquarium is home to over 500 species of animals in both indoor and outdoor exhibits. It’s also the former home of Keiko, the movie star Orca Whale.

Portland Japanese Garden

The 5.5 acre Japanese Garden is composed of five distinct garden styles, all of which produce an atmosphere of harmony with nature. The careful use of plants, stones, and water, create an aura of serenity and beauty. Your students will be amazed!

Sea Lion Caves

Formed 25 million years ago, this basalt rock cave is the largest sea cave in the world and the home of the wild Sea Lion. The rock ledge below the lookout, located just outside the cave, is the area that the sea lions call home during the spring and summer, while they raise their young.

Vista House

Vista House is the most photographed location in the Columbia River Gorge. It was built in 1916-1918 as a memorial to Oregon pioneers and towers 733 feet above the river.

Willamette Jet Boat Tours

Take a jet boat tour of the Portland area. There are two tours to choose from.

World Forestry Museum

The World Forestry Museum’s mission is to educate and inform people about the world's forests and trees, and their importance to all life, in order to promote a balanced and sustainable future.

Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area & Tidepool Lab

The Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area is located on a narrow point of land jutting due west into the Pacific Ocean at the north end of Newport, Oregon. Touring student groups will see harbor seals and whales. In spring and summer, thousands of seabirds flock to the near-shore islands to breed and raise their young. The tide pool site is within a protected Marine Garden area of the nature preserve.

Experience Music Project

The Experience Music Project (EMP) is dedicated to the exploration of creativity and innovation in popular music. By blending interpretative, interactive exhibitions with cutting-edge technology, EMP captures and reflects the essence of rock ‘n’ roll, its roots in jazz, soul, gospel, country and the blues, as well as rock’s influence on hip-hop, punk and other recent genres.

Future of Flight/ The Boeing Company Tour

Visitors will tour The Boeing Company, one of the largest buildings in the world. During the tour you will see airplanes in various stages of manufacture and witness a flight test.

Hoh Rainforest

The Hoh Rainforest has a temperate coastal climate with summer temperatures above 80 degrees and towering Sitka spruce trees! The rainforest also contain magnificent moss areas and many other unusual plants. Woven into this amazing climate is a diverse population of animals, including the Roosevelt elk. Your students will want to spend hours in this living laboratory!

Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge Located in Olympic National Park has climate is the direct opposite of the Hoh rainforest, also located in the park. At 5,100 feet above sea level, it’s much cooler. Groups must travel the winding nine mile road to the visitor’s center where they will get a spectacular view of the Olympic Mountains and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The Johnston Ridge Observatory

The Observatory contains state-of-the-art interpretive displays that magically reproduce the sequence of geologic events that transformed the landscape and opened up a new era in the science of monitoring an active volcano and forecasting eruptions. Visitors can read amazing eyewitness accounts from eruption survivors.

Kalaloch Beach

Also located in the Olympic National Park is the Kalaloch ("Clay-Lock") Beach area, famous for the miles and miles of pristine Pacific Ocean beach as well as the largest western Red Cedar Tree in the United States.

Mount Rainer

At 14,410 feet, Mount Rainier is the most prominent peak in the Cascade Mountain Range. It is an active volcano that last erupted over 150 years ago. The park is a complex ecosystem with diverse vegetation, some that date back 10,000 years!

Mt St. Helens

At 8:32 Sunday morning, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted. Shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, the north face of this tall symmetrical mountain collapsed in a massive rock debris avalanche. Nearly 230 square miles of forest was blown down or buried beneath volcanic deposits. At the same time a mushroom-shaped column of ash rose thousands of feet skyward and drifted downwind, turning day into night as dark, gray ash fell over eastern Washington and beyond. The eruption lasted 9 hours, but Mount St. Helens and the surrounding landscape were dramatically changed within moments.

Museum of Flight

The Museum of Flight is located at the South end of the Boeing Field. Visitors will experience flight as never before. They can sit in the cockpit of a real SR-71 Blackbird or F/A-18 Hornet. They can also Board America's first presidential jet, the Air Force One, or the sleek Concorde.

Museum of Glass

The Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington provides a dynamic learning environment to appreciate the medium of glass through creative experiences, collections and exhibitions.

Orca Wildlife Tour

The search for killer orca whales takes about an hour and a half to travel by the high speed Puget Sound Express to their natural habitat. Upon arrival, visitors are rewarded with up close views of these amazing creatures.

Science Fiction Museum & Hall of Fame

The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (SFM) is the world's first museum devoted to the thought-provoking ideas and experiences of science fiction. The museum’s exhibitions promote awareness and appreciation of science fiction literature and media while encouraging visitors to envision new futures for humanity.

Seattle Aquarium

The Seattle Aquarium has one of the best jellyfish displays in the nation. Student visitors can stand within a circle of glowing jellyfish and run their fingers along a sea anemone’s soft tentacles. They can also delight in watching the antics of the sea otters.

Seattle Space Needle

This is Seattle’s “Must See”! Two of the Space Needle elevators travel at a rate of 10 mph, or 800 feet per minute. The actual travel time from the ground level to the top-house is a mere 43 seconds!

Sol Duc Hot Springs

Sol Duc Hot Springs is another hidden gem in the Olympic National Park. It consists of three mineral hot spring soaking pools and one freshwater pool. Temperatures vary between the different pools allowing visitors to select the perfect one to relax and soak in.