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Tours
Hydroelectric Dams
One of the best ways to learn about energy is to visit its source. Here in the Pacific Northwest, many of our hydroelectric dams have Visitor Centers that offer educational tours for individuals and school groups. To schedule a tour, contact the Visitor Center directly. While you're there, ask for a free copy of BPA's activity book for kids, "SPLASH, ZIPPIE & THE HYDRO PALS: How electricity moves from nature to your home." Here are contacts for some of the region's largest visitor centers:
To see if there is a hydroelectric facility near you, check the Foundation for Water & Energy Education's damfinder feature. Or, check out this on-line tour of a hydroelectric project: Walk through a hydro project.
 
 
Virtual Bonneville Dam (Provided by USACE)
 
Virtual Bonneville is a set of 4 webpages designed to share educational and interpretive content of Bonneville and its partners via a central hub hosted on the US Army Corps of Engineers Bonneville homepage.  The core to the pages is the Educational Videos and Activity page. Other pages include Video Tours and Stories, Junior Ranger Program and Activities, and Partner Content.  Each page is designed to be expansive as more relevant and targeted content is identified and created. 
 
Content found at the link below:
https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/Locations/Columbia-River/Bonneville-Lock-Dam/Bonneville-Educational-Curriculum/
 
Questions about Virtual Bonneville Dam content? Please contact:
 
Barrett Frobose
Supervisory Natural Resource Specialist
Bonneville Lock and Dam
Barrett.k.Frobose@usace.army.mil
                                                ​BPA Laboratory Tour
Electricity 101
Students can visit BPA laboratories in Vancouver, Wash. for an up-close look at how electricity works in the Northwest. They visit three stations: the High Voltage Labs, the Mechanical Testing labs, and "Dr. Science" who shares little-known facts about electricity. The tour takes approximately 2 hours and can accommodate groups of up to 100 students. Tours are offered for one week in the fall and one week in the spring, and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
To register, email Kelly Jorgensen at kajorgensen@bpa.gov  with the school name, teacher contact information, and size of your group. Registration for spring tours begins in January of each year; registration for fall tours begins in September.
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