Carter's Field Trip to Fraser River Discovery Centre

A few weeks ago Carter got to go on a field trip to the Fraser River Discovery Centre in New Westminster. I had never heard about it before but it seems that when the casino that was on the waterfront closed down a few years ago they turned the space in to the home of the Discovery Centre. Downtown New Westminster is an odd location for such a place but the city isn't that big so this location was good as any. The focus for grade two kids was the sturgeon that live in the river.

I've often heard about the sturgeon but to be honest I didn't know much about them. Certainly not the size that they grow to. Since they don't migrate and spawn like Salmon they can grow to be many over 100 years old. They also just keep getting bigger and bigger. This means they can grow to over 10 feet long. I'm still amazed that we have fish that size in the Fraser River. The only issue I had with the day was that all three activities were entered around the life cycle of the sturgeon. I guess they figure repetition is the easiest way for the kids to remember.