The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center is a

visitor center A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center or tourist information centre is a physical location that provides information to tourists. Types A visitor center may be a Civic c ...

Ketchikan Ketchikan ( ; ) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough on Revillagigedo Island of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District. With a po ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, operated by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

as part of the

Tongass National Forest The Tongass National Forest () in Southeast Alaska is the largest U.S. National Forest at , an expanse larger than 10 U.S. states and 75 U.N. member nations. Most of its area is temperate rain forest and is remote enough to be home to many s ...

.Southeast Alaska Discovery Center

The center provides interpretive exhibits and activities about the ecology, economy and culture of

Southeast Alaska Southeast Alaska, often abbreviated to southeast or southeastern, and sometimes called the Alaska(n) panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian provi ...

and its

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are rainforests with coniferous or Broad-leaved tree, broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rainforests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate ...

ecosystems.

Design

The building was designed by Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects, led by the team of

Grant Jones Grant Richard Jones (August 29, 1938 – June 21, 2021) was an American landscape architect, poet, and founding principal of the Seattle firm Jones & Jones Architects, Landscape Architects and Planners. In more than four decades of practice, his ...

and noted indigenous architect

Johnpaul Jones Johnpaul Jones (born July 24, 1941) is an American architect and landscape architect, partner in Seattle-based architecture firm Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects, best known for innovative habitat immersion method design of zoo ...

Exhibits

The Discovery Center has four main exhibit halls, focusing respectively on the coastal rainforest ecosystem, Alaska Native cultures, other ecosystems of Southeast Alaska, and modern human uses of natural resources. Additionally, there is an exhibit honoring

Elizabeth Peratrovich Elizabeth Peratrovich (; ; July 4, 1911December 1, 1958) was an American civil rights activist, Grand President of the Alaska Native Sisterhood, and a Tlingit who worked for equality on behalf of Alaska Natives. In the 1940s, her advocacy wa ...

, a

Tlingit The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...

civil rights leader, for whom the center's theater is named.

References

Gallery

Image: Southeast Alaska Discover Center, Ketchikan, Alaska. Fish camp, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. Salmon fillets were soaked in a salt solution, draped over drying racks to dry then taken to the smokehouse and hung over slow burning fires.jpg, Southeast Alaska Discover Center, Ketchikan, Alaska. Fish camp, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. Salmon fillets were soaked in a salt solution, draped over drying racks to dry then taken to the smokehouse and hung over slow burning fires. Image: Tlingit Ceremonial Mask, Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, Ketchikan, Alaska.jpg, Tlingit Ceremonial Mask, Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, Ketchikan, Alaska Image: Totem Pole on display at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, Ketchikan, Alaska.jpg, Totem Pole on display at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, Ketchikan, Alaska Image: A Totem Pole on display at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, Ketchikan, Alaska.jpg, A Totem Pole on display at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, Ketchikan, Alaska Image: Most of Alaska’s land is in public ownership. Map of Alaska on display at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, Ketchikan, Alaska.jpg, Most of Alaska’s land is in public ownership. Map of Alaska on display at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, Ketchikan, Alaska Image: Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear, Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, Ketchikan, Alaska.jpg, Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear, Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, Ketchikan, Alaska Image: Southeast Alaska Discovery Center Gift Shop, Ketchikan, Alaska.jpg, Southeast Alaska Discovery Center Gift Shop, Ketchikan, Alaska

External links

* Buildings and structures in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska Government buildings in Alaska Ketchikan, Alaska Natural history museums in Alaska Nature centers in Alaska Tongass National Forest Tourist attractions in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska Visitor centers in the United States United States Forest Service architecture 1995 establishments in Alaska {{KetchikanGatewayAK-geo-stub