Fraser River Discovery Centre

New Westminster’s Fraser River Discovery Centre features exhibits about the environment and ecosystems around the Fraser River in the Vancouver region.

In addition to being open as a museum between five and seven days a week, the centre hosts special events every month.

Visit fraserriverdiscovery.org for the centre’s official website.

EVENTS AT THE CENTRE

Special events take place at the Fraser River Discovery Centre (FRDC). Check out the following events on the venue’s website to learn about some of them:

River Basin Days – a monthly series of outdoor events at different locations around the Lower Mainland, but hosted by the FRDC.
Summer Discovery Days – a series of events for young families. It usually takes place on the last weekend of the month.

Guided Tours of the facility also take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 am and 12:30 pm. You need to register for these in advance. Quayside Walking Tours also happen on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

See the FRDC’s Calendar of Events for a list of other special events and activities hosted by the attraction.

Exhibits and Demonstrations at the Fraser River Discovery Centre in New Westminster

The Fraser River Discovery Centre is a place where the public can learn about the Fraser River, its ecosystems and the surrounding environment. It’s a great place for young children and their families.

Located at 788 Quayside Drive in New Westminster, the Discovery Centre operates five days a week during the slower season and seven days a week in the summer (including statutory holidays). Its hours of operation are from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.

The venue is usually open Wednesdays to Sundays until the end of June. Guests can visit every day of the week from early July until early September.

Visit fraserriverdiscovery.org for the attraction’s official website.

New Westminster Boardwalk — The Boardwalk at Westminster Quay

Admission Rates

How much you pay to get into the Centre depends on your age, whether you’re a student, and if you want a day pass or an annual pass. The prices as of March, 2025, are listed below. (Note: Rates and other details are subject to change.)

Adults (19 and over) – $8
Seniors or Students (with ID) – $6
Children (3 to 12) – $5
Infants (0 to 2) – Free

Family passes are also available for $20 and cover two adults and up to four children. In addition, there are guided tours of the exhibits on Saturday and Sunday most weeks. Tours are approximately one hour long and cost an extra $5 per person. Advanced registration is required.

Consider getting an annual pass if you plan to visit the Discovery Centre more than once a year. The price for one is pretty much equal to four visits, so if you plan on visiting five or more times in a year it’s a good deal.

Annual passes also come with a variety of perks, a couple of which are getting into Super Saturdays for free and receiving a 15% discount on products at the Discovery Shop.

Prices for an annual pass as of March, 2025, are the following:

Adults – $30
Seniors and Students (with ID) – $25
Families (two adults and four kids) – $52

Visit fraserriverdiscovery.org for the attraction’s official website.

Guided Tours at the Fraser River Discovery Centre

Quayside Walking Tours

In addition to tours of the facility itself you can also learn about the Fraser River and the surrounding area on a quayside historical tour. These take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 pm. They cost $5 per person and are around 90 minutes in long.

These tours take place outside on a walk down the New Westminster boardwalk. They are full of information about the river and how this area came to be. You must pre-register for a walking tour to take part.

Education at the Fraser River

The centre has various educational programs and resources for teachers and those working in schools who wish to teach their classes about the Fraser River. There are also organized field trips available for people of almost any age including seniors and kids in daycare.

Spring Break camps and summer camps are popular programs at the Fraser River Discovery Centre. Each week in the summer there is a different theme to the camp. Examples from recent years include “Spectacular Salmon,” “Science on the Fraser” and “Voyageur Adventure.”

River Basin Days at FRDC

In 2025 there are also River Basin Days public programs. The workshops are available once a month and take place outdoors at different locations. Each program offers an hour full of educational activities, experiments and more. The workshops are educational and fun for the whole family.

The River Basin Days events happen at various parks around the Lower Mainland. On Saturday, March 8th in 2025, the event is at the Campbell Valley Regional Park where attendees can use their five senses of touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste to explore nature.

River Basin Days events aren’t free, but they are very affordable. They cost the same as regular admission to the Fraser River Discovery Centre which is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, $5 for children ages 3 to 12, and $20 for a family. Registration also includes free admission to the Fraser River Discovery Centre.

See the Fraser River Discovery Centre‘s website to learn more about this program.

Events at the Centres

A number of events take place at the Fraser River Discovery Centre at different times of the year. Below are a few of them.

Super Weekend at FRDC

One set of events hosted at the Fraser River Discovery Centre is Super Weekend. On the last weekend of each month there is a public program designed for families to enjoy. All programs feature activities related to the Fraser River.

Tickets cost the same as regular admission to the Centre and they also grant full access to the Centre. An example of a Super Weekend event was Blustery Fraser Canyon that happened on January 25th and 26th and again on February 22nd and 23rd in 2025. Attendees to this event learned through interactive science demonstrations, engaging stories, and hands-on crafts how the distinctive geography of the Fraser Canyon influences the weather patterns of the Lower Mainland.

See the Fraser River Discovery Centre‘s website to learn more about these events.

Easter at the Discovery Centre

To celebrate the Easter holidays the Centre usually has extra family-friendly activities on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the Easter Long Weekend.

A couple of years ago a Spring Salmon Eggs-travaganza event featured salmon-themed crafts, games and other family-friendly activities over the Easter weekend in April. The event ran from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Details of an Easter event in 2025 are to be confirmed.

Access to the special activities is included with the cost of regular admission.

Riverfest at the Discovery Centre

Riverfest celebrates World River Day which takes place in September. The event at the Fraser River Discovery Centre features artists, a market, live music, historians and environmental exhibits about the river and surrounding area.

Riverfest is typically a four-day festival and takes place along the Quay in New Westminster.

New Westminster Riverfest Market — Riverfest in New Westminster

Discovery Centre Summer Camps

In July and August the Discovery Centre usually runs week-long summer camps for kids. Each one takes place from Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm every day. They are for kids aged between 6 and 11.

The camps can usually accommodate a maximum of 12 children. The camps include science experiments, history lessons, arts and crafts, outdoor games and more.

Winter Discovery Days

The Discovery Centre offers different workshops for kids during winter break. They are fun, educational and very hands-on. The 2024/25 Winter Discovery Days ran from December 21st to January 5th. There were special activities daily from 10:00 am to noon and from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, with the exception of December 25th and January 1st.

From December 21st to 28th last year, there was Chilly Critters: Animal Winter Secrets. There, kids learned about how different animals stay warm during the cold months, and the children could make their own “animal coat”.

Then from December 29th to January 5th it was Winter Warriors: How Humans Beat the Cold. Participants learned the basics of how to create pit houses, make snowmen (even if there was no snow on the ground) and put together their own emergency grab-and-go kit.

Discovery Centre Video

Check out the video below for an idea of what the Fraser River Discovery Centre looks like. The facility has lots of displays and hands-on activities that are especially appealing to young children.