Hanford Reach Interpretive Center
Natural and cultural history have equal weight at the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center. The exhibits focus on both the natural wildlife of the area, as well as the unique cultural background of one of the most significant historic sites in the nation, spanning eons of time.
BPI worked with Hilferty and Associates to develop and produce all the multimedia components in the venue.
A downward projected presentation reveals the geologic story of the Columbia River basin, while an interactive fossil dig allows visitors to discover remains and assemble them into skeletons.
The Living Land exhibit experience captures the flora and fauna of the National Monument, which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Weeks of on-site field production resulted in a collection of “moments” that play across eleven monitors showing bright spring wildflowers, running elk, swimming otters and muskrats, along with flocks of waterfowl and migratory birds that fly through the space as they move from one monitor to the next. These wildlife moments are accompanied by a soundscape that makes the space literally come alive.
The Save the Reach gallery includes an interactive timeline showing how a local grassroots effort helped preserve the area for the American public.
The concluding exhibit is the Hanford Engineer Works and its role in national security during World War II and the subsequent Cold War, chronicled in the film “The Land Transformed.”
