Southeast Alaska Discovery Center

The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center is operated by the US Forest Service as it is about the Tongass National Forest. It is so well organized and presented that it outdoes many better-funded National Park Visitor Centers. The building has a soaring central hall more than two stories high with exposed wood beam architecture. The displays cover the natural and human environment, and the many different users of the national forest. Less well known is the effort the Forest Service made to reconcile with the Native American tribes in the Tongass National Forest (Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian tribes) after a long history of suppressing the rights of the first peoples in the area. There are very interesting Native American artifacts in the collection. There are several videos and a map store. The Discovery Center is a short walk from the cruise ship docks and a well worth visiting Ketchikan highlight. The center Director had many valuable insights to share and was very friendly and accessible, possible in a small center with only a couple permanent staff.