At the Portland Children's Museum the mission is to inspire imagination, creativity and the wonder of learning in children and adults by inviting moments of shared discovery. Portland Children's Museum was founded by visionary Dorothea Lensch in 1946 as part of Portland Parks and Recreation. The Museum is now the sixth oldest children's museum in the country, and each year the Museum welcomes more than 245,000 children from birth to age ten and their caregivers.

Time prints of the millennia are boldly etched on the walls of the Columbia Gorge. They record a 40-million-year-long story of change, endurance and majesty. The first human imprints in the Gorge were left by the Indian cultures that flourished here for thousands of years, drawing both spiritual and physical strength from this bountiful place. When you visit the Columbia River Gorge Interpretive Center Museum, you are able to visualize and participate in the bountiful life of the Columbia River Gorge. Visitors will also find a 37-food fishwheel, the world's largest rosary collection, an art gallery and American Indian artifacts.  

Portland was founded as a river port, and to this day the metro area, the entire state and the communities of Southwest Washington share a vital connection to river marine and recreation. The Maritime Center & Museum mission is to provide, operate and maintain facilities dedicated to the collection, preservation and public display of maritime objects; to collect and preserve maritime records for scholarly use; to provide public meeting opportunities for maritime interpretation and education and to encourage interest and educate the public in the past present and future maritime heritage of Oregon and the Columbia river basin. This museum stands as a tribute to an industry which remains an important part of the state's history. Two floors of exhibits and models as well as the restored Sternwheeler "Portland", which is docked at the front door, are part of the museum tour.  

Step through the doors of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and enter a world of discovery and imagination! An array of interactive exhibits, live demonstrations, planetarium presentations, laboratory experiments and off-site classes and camps offer people of all ages an adventure. Climb onboard and tour an actual submarine and learn about the technology of underwater exploration. The state-of-the-art OMNIMAX Theatre utilizes a five-story domed movie screen to create a cinematic experience unlike any conventional flat-screen theatre. You can always count on finding something new and exciting at OMSI.

The Portland Art Museum is internationally recognized for its collection of more than 42,000 objects reflecting the history of art from ancient times to today. Spanning 35 centuries of Asian, European and American art, the museum regularly features national and international traveling exhibitions and offers a full program of tours, lectures, films and special events.

Enter the dramatic galleries and explore the sights, sounds and stories of Oregon through a variety of exhibits for the entire family at the Oregon History Center.