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.

For the centre’s official website, visit fraserriverdiscovery.org.

EVENTS AT THE CENTRE

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

Super Saturdays (on the last Saturday each month)
River Basin Days (a monthly series of outdoor events at different locations)
Faces of the Fraser Valley (a speaker series featuring special subject experts)

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

For a list of other special events and activities hosted by the attraction, see the FRDC’s Calendar of Events.

Exhibits and Demonstrations at the Fraser River Discovery Centre

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 four 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.

As of January 2024, the venue is open Wednesdays to Sundays until the middle of June. Then, guests can visit every day of the week between mid-June and the first weekend of September.

For the attraction’s official website visit fraserriverdiscovery.org.

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 January 2024 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 Friday, Saturday and Sunday most weeks. Tours are approximately one hour long and cost an extra $5 per person.

If you plan to visit the Discovery Centre more than once a year, consider getting an annual pass. 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 early 2024 are the following:

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

For the attraction’s official website visit fraserriverdiscovery.org.

Guided Tours

Visitors to the Fraser River Discovery Centre can wander around the facility and look at the exhibits on their own. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, however, there are also guided tours.

The guided tours cost $5 per person in addition to the cost of general admission. As of early 2024, the tours take place three days of the week at 10:30 am and 12:30 pm. The tours are very informative and last for about an hour. Advanced registration is required.

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 in order 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 2024 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 January 13th in 2024, for example, the event was at the Surrey Bend Regional Park where attendees learned about the basics of weather.

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, $53 for children ages 3 to 12, and $20 for a family. Registration also includes free admission to the Fraser River Discovery Centre.

To learn more about this program, see the Fraser River Discovery Centre‘s website.

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 Saturdays at FRDC

One set of events hosted at the Fraser River Discovery Centre is Super Saturdays. On the last Saturday 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 Saturday event is It’s a Breeze on January 27th in 2024. It’s a hands-on workshop about modelling winds. The Fraser Canyon is considered the windiest place along the Fraser River so what better place to learn about this weather phenomenon.

To learn more about these events see the Fraser River Discovery Centre‘s website.

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.

2023’s Spring Salmon Eggs-travaganza event featured salmon-themed crafts, games and other family-friendly activities on April 7th to 9th, so from the Friday to the Sunday. The event ran from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm on all three days. The Easter event for 2024 is still 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 each day. They are for kids who are between the ages of 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.

Discovery Centre Video

To give you an idea of what the Fraser River Discovery Centre looks like, check out the video below. As you’ll see, the facility has lots of displays and hands-on activities that are especially appealing to young children.