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.

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 slower seasons and seven days a week during busier times. Its hours of operation are from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm year-round.

The venue is open daily during the summer (from July 1st until Labour Day) as well as during both Winter Break and Spring Break. It’s open from Wednesday to Sunday the rest of the year.

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 August, 2026, are listed below. (Note: Rates and other details are subject to change.)

Adults (19 and over) – $8
Seniors and 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 available on weekends. 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 multiple times. The price for one is pretty much equal to four visits, so if you plan on visiting five or more times in a year then 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 August, 2026, are the following:

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

Guided Tours at the Fraser River Discovery Centre

Below are details on the two regular tour options offered by the Fraser River Discovery Centre. Both cost $5 per person.

Exhibit Tours

The Exhibit Tours take visitors through both floors of the Discovery Centre and provide additional context and information on all of what you can see inside the centre. They’re about an hour long and happen at 10:30 am on Saturdays and Sundays.

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 tours take place outside on a walk down the New Westminster boardwalk. They happen on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 pm.

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 2026 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, September 12th in 2026, the event is at Tynehead Regional Park where attendees can learn all about local mushroom varieties and how they connect to other species of plants and trees in the area.

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. Children under 2 are free. Registration also includes free admission to the Fraser River Discovery Centre (which you can redeem at any point after the event).

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.

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.

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 a two-day festival and takes place along the Quay in New Westminster. The Discovery Centre offers free admission on both days which are September 26th and 27th in 2026.

New Westminster Riverfest Market — Riverfest in New Westminster

Spring Break Camps

The Discovery Centre offers different workshops for kids during spring break. They are fun, educational and very hands-on. In 2026 the Spring Break Camps ran from March 16th to 20th and again from March 23rd to 27th. There were special activities daily from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

From March 16th to 20th, 2026, there was Rooted in the River, where kids learned about the history of the Fraser River, as well as about pollution, science, climate change, and more.

Then, from March 23rd to 27th, 2026, there was River Explorers. There kids explored the wonders of the Fraser River ecosystem.

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. They typically include science experiments, history lessons, arts and crafts, outdoor games and more.

There are four different rotating themes for the summer camps in 2026. They are Journey Down the River (July 6th to 10th and August 4th to 7th), River Engineers (July 13th to 17th and August 10th to 14th), Survival on the Fraser (July 20th to 24th and August 17th to 21st), and River Investigators (July 20th to 31st and August 24th to 28th).

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.