FORT PECK, Mont. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is celebrating 20 years since opening the Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center and Museum in Fort Peck, Montana on Saturday, June 21, 2025. In addition, the Montana Dinosaur Trail also turns 20 this year. The Interpretive Center will be open Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Activities begin with powerhouse tours at 9:30 a.m. and continue hourly. Food for purchase will be available starting at 11 a.m. with most other activities starting at noon.
At 1 p.m., local paleo-ecologist Joseph Garcia will share Lewis and Clark’s observations of the Cretaceous period in Northeast Montana. Garcia will have fossils on hand and will be available for questions throughout the afternoon. Garcia has extensive field experience in the Hell Creek formation.
Throughout the day visitors can explore the Bee Haven Pollinator Garden, then confirm their insect sightings in a new digital exhibit featuring photographs by Sean Heavey.
Experts from the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge will share regional wildlife features and have a patrol boat on hand. The Interpretive Center also serves as the Refuge visitor center.
Visitors can play lawn games, make buttons, create bird feeders or read a book along the half-mile Story Trail. In addition, a new digital display of dam construction dredging photos will play throughout the day.
The last powerhouse tour leaves the Interpretive Center at 3:30 p.m. Tours are limited to 12 people. Adults must show identification meeting REAL ID parameters, most commonly a driver’s license with a gold star or a passport.
The Interpretive Center officially opened May 7, 2005 after nearly ten years of planning and fundraising by the Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center and Museum Association, Inc., Fort Peck Paleontology Inc., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, among others.
The Montana Dinosaur Trail is a collaboration of 15 museums in Montana meant to boost paleontology tourism. The Montana Department of Commerce spearheaded the Dinosaur Trail with the grand opening also occurring at the Interpretive Center, May 7, 2005. For more information, go to MTDinoTrail.org or visit the Interpretive Center.
Thanks to the planning committee, Montana’s Missouri River Country, the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, Two Rivers Economic Development Council and the Montana Dinosaur Trail.
For more information, call the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Peck Interpretive Center at (406) 526-3493. Updates to hours and activities can also be found on the Fort Peck Dam & Lake Facebook page: @USACEFortPeck.