Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center Visit

The journalist from the United Kingdom I recently hosted was eager to visit Great Falls’ Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. I wondered if he was familiar with US history or just wanted to learn about the area. It didn’t take long to answer my question when we got inside the Lewis & Clark center.

Jeff LaRock from the center’s management team met us at the Compass Rose area in the lobby for an overview of the expedition. The beautifully tiled Compass Rose shows the entire Lewis & Clark journey in pictographs.

As Jeff and the journalist visited I soon realized that my guest had some pretty good knowledge of Lewis & Clark and also of military history of both the United Kingdom and the United States. I marvelled as these two talked about dates and events throughout both countries histories. Darn, why didn’t I study a bit harder in history class!

No matter what part of the world a visitor comes from, the Lewis & Clark story is truly epic.

The Missouri River was their main route and when you realize that they traveled upriver, well, that alone makes life a bit of a struggle! One interactive display at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center lets visitors show their strength in pulling a boat upriver. We were cheering for our journalist and he did well, for about 5 seconds. It’s fun to see what your strength level is though.

Displays at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center show Indian tribes that were encountered by the Lewis & Clark expedition as they crossed this area. My guest was fascinated and we spent longer than I had planned, nothing new, it happens frequently!