News

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Our Depot Day on June 13, 2026 from 9 am to 3 pm, we  will celebrate Oregon Bees, “A Honey of a Day.” Admission and Parking will be free that day! Learn about honey bees and other helpful bees of Oregon at Brooks Depot Day. Discover some of the 600 types of naturally occurring bees in Oregon.

Each attendee will take home a 44 page booklet, Explore the Bees of Oregon and how they make our food from the Oregon Bee Project and Oregon State University. It includes photos, drawings, fun facts, learning activities, recipes, and hints on how you can help bees. Color pages and more recipes are available. All will go home with some honey sticks from Nature’s Kick Honey Stix, a local sponsor.

Perform a “waggle dance” like a honey bee uses to communicate where to find nectar and pollen. Complete a scavenger hunt on types of bees. Watch a video on how honey is made. Create a pop-up book mark of a honey bee, or a fabric flower with a bee.  Prizes! 

Visiting us: During the 2026 season which begins April 4, we will be open at Powerland Heritage Park on Saturdays, and on the big event days at Powerland. Email us for tours on other days. BHS6.OR@gmail.com

We’d love your help! Come learn about our local history and help relay it in person to kids and families that visit during our events, and Powerland-wide events. We can train you to help with a kid activity, or do behind-the-scenes work at our museum, or be a docent, whatever your comfort level. Many of us found that once we knew about our interesting local history, we were eager to share it! Email us: BHS6.OR@gmail.com.

2026 Exhibits Our new agricultural exhibit is on bees of Oregon, and their importance to agricultural crops. There are lots of scientific facts, fun facts, and old newspaper articles.

We honor local persons who recently served in the military. Our current exhibit is on Joaquin Garcia, who served in the US Army as a Tank Maintenance Specialist from 2010-2013.

We also have exhibits on the evolution of the radio, the “ghost town” of Fairfield on the Willamette River, major floods on the Willamette, and some of the local inhabitants. There are comparative photos of the communities of Brooks and Gervais then and now. And there is a history of the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Oregon Electric railroad, with a map you can take home. Come see us!

Our Annual Used Book Sale will begin as soon as we are sure the rains (more or less) halt for the summer. Once again a tentful of used books at bargain prices of 50 cents or 25 cents will be offered all during the summer.