Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Lava Lands Visitor Center hosts its grand re-opening Saturday.

The center is considered something of the gateway to the Newberry National Monument, south of Bend.

Heidi Scott is an interpretive guide at Lava Lands.

She says the old exhibits and dioramas were outdated and in dire need of updating.

Heidi Scott: “We’ve had this stuff for around 20 years, things like hand-pressed leaves. But the new stuff, is more video-programmed, and we’re trying to get into more cultural and native American history.”

The old exhibits aren’t being trashed. They are being moved to a new exhibit center, near Paulina Lake.

The project’s remodeling took two years and an $800,000 contract awarded by the U.S. Forest Service.