By Danny Cosgrove
Director of Education
The Dalles, Ore., Nov. 2, 2026 — On November 14, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum in The Dalles will host the Archaeology Roadshow in partnership with Portland State University. The event is free, with opportunities to meet archaeologists, watch demonstrations and bring an object you’re curious about to a table of experts.
I have a bottle I’m planning to bring.
I found it in the dirt of the basement of the 1920s house I’m renovating. I love it already, but I’d like to know more. What was it used for? How old might it be? There may be things about it that an expert would notice right away and I wouldn’t know to look for. Eventually, it will sit on my mantelpiece (which still needs to be sanded and stained), and when it does, I’d like to have a little more of a story to go with it.
That curiosity is part of why we’re hosting the Roadshow. We’re proud of the exhibits at the Discovery Center and the stories we’re able to share about the cultural history of the Eastern Gorge and Wasco County. Much of what we can tell visitors depends on the patient work of people studying objects and the places they came from.
In a museum exhibit, you often encounter the results of that work. You see an object, read a label and learn something about the people who lived here. The Roadshow offers a chance to talk with people doing the investigating. You can ask how they know what they know, what they’re still trying to understand and what the work actually involves.
Portland State University organizes Archaeology Roadshows around Oregon each year. Here in The Dalles, visitors will be able to meet participating organizations and practitioners, see flintknapping demonstrations and talk with experts about objects they bring from home. The experts won’t provide financial appraisals, but they may be able to help identify an object or explain something about its history and use.
This year’s theme is “Fire and Water,” a subject that feels close to home in the Eastern Gorge. Both have shaped this place and the lives of people here for thousands of years. We’re still dealing with questions about fire, water use and water shortages. Looking at the past can give us more to consider as we make decisions about the future. Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue will bring its 1930s fire engine, offering one way to think about how our response to fire has changed within that much longer history.
My hope is that people will spend some time talking, asking questions and following whatever catches their interest. Then, when they walk through our exhibits, perhaps they’ll notice something they hadn’t before. They’ll have met some of the people who study this history and seen a little of the care and work that goes into understanding it.
Indian tacos will also be available for purchase, so stay for lunch! And I’m hoping I’ll go home knowing a little more about my bottle.
