Frog Exhibit Leaps Back Into Oregon Aquarium

The frogs are back at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Ore., due to popular demand.

The Aquarium exhibit “Frogs: Clues to Survival” closed a year ago, but requests for its return were so numerous, the organization put the frogs and all of the other amphibians back on exhibit.

Among the frogs in the exhibit are the tomato frog from Madagascar, an endangered species known for its bright vermilion color and toxic secretions, a tree frog from Australia, an enormous African bullfrog and rough-skinned newts.

Visitors can crawl through a tube to a turtle tank to get a turtle’s view of the world.

For more information about exhibit hours and fees, contact the Oregon Coast Aquarium at (541) 867-3474, or on the Web at www.aquarium.org.

Inside Passage brochures out

The new brochure detailing the BC Ferries sailings along the Inside Passage is available, and it won’t be long before the ferries sail.

The summer season runs May 19 through Oct. 19 for the 15-hour cruise from Port Hardy on Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert. Summer sailings among the Queen Charlotte Islands run May 24-Sept. 26.

For a brochure with departure times and dates, route information and costs, call BC Ferries at (250) 386-3431, or write BC Ferries, 1112 Fort St., Department L&L, Victoria, BC Canada V8V 4V2. Current sailing information is available on the Web at www.bcferries.bc.ca.

Heading south this spring?

The latest edition of “Where To Stay in Oregon” is available from the Oregon Lodging Association.

The free 88-page lodging directory includes more than 1,100 listings for hotels, motels, inns, B&Bs, RV parks and campgrounds in Oregon.

For a copy, call (800) 547-7842.

A look at the distant past

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland is the first North American stop for the exhibit “Missing Links-Alive!”

The exhibit explores the mystery of human origins and offers a glimpse of what life might have been like millions of years ago. The 10,000-square-foot exhibit includes archaeological artifacts, some dating back 20,000 to 35,000 years.

The exhibit is on loan from the Noravian Museum Brno in the Czech Republic; the artifacts had been hidden in Eastern European vaults since before World War I.

A number of activities are scheduled in conjunction with the exhibit, which runs May 20-Sept. 7. For a detailed schedule, admission fees and museum hours, contact the OMSI at (503) 797-4000, write 1945 SE Water Ave., Portland, OR 97214, or visit www.omsi.edu on the Web.

OMSI is located on the east bank of the Willamette River in downtown Portland, near the Hawthorne Bridge. However, the bridge will be closed for repairs through March 1999. Visitors can access OMSI via the Morrison, Burnside or Ross Island bridges.

Planning ahead

An exhibit of the works of Leonardo da Vinci will make its only West Coast stop in Victoria, British Columbia, this fall.

“Leonardo da Vinci: Scientist, Inventor, Artist” includes more than 230 items which will be exhibited at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria Oct. 1 through February, 1999.

The only other North American stop for the exhibit is the Museum of Science in Boston, where it is now on display.

For more information about the Royal British Columbia Museum hours and admission fees, call (250) 387-3701 or write the museum at PO Box 9815, Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, BC V8W 9W2.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo