Lewis-Clark exhibit visits

“The Rivers of Lewis and Clark,” an award-winning exhibit featuring the environmental history of the Missouri, Columbia, Snake and Yellowstone, opens Monday and runs through Aug. 29 at River Park Square in Spokane.

The free exhibit, which is being unpacked from a 53-foot truck-trailer, uses a variety of media such as reproductions of expedition journals and maps drawn by Capt. William Clark, computerized information screens, audio recordings, 230 images and even a keelboat prow for kids to explore.

A mini-theater features a film about Columbia River salmon.

Since hitting the road in 2001, the exhibit has been viewed by about 1.5 million people at 24 venues in 13 states, said Peter Carrels, who developed the project for the conservation group American Rivers. Co-sponsors include the U.S. Army and The History Channel.

“The exhibit has three themes,” Carrels said. “First, it follows the Lewis and Clark Expedition journals and maps for a baseline to describe what these rivers, their plants and wildlife were like in their most natural condition before settlement.

“Next it summarizes what’s happed to those rivers, dealing with some controversial issues in what we consider an even-handed way. It’s notable that American Rivers and the Army Corps of Engineers haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but we worked well together on this project.”

Among the topics are salmon, dams, economic development and urban river fronts.

“Finally, we talk about what’s being done to restore and protect various stretches of the rivers,” Carrels said, all with a healthy dose of Lewis and Clark as the expedition related to rivers.”

The eye-grabbing displays recently were awarded the Natural Resources Council of America Education award for 2005.

“It’s like a coffee table book in a huge format,” Carrels said.