Things to Do in Washougal

Founded in 1898, a year remembered by fashion historians as "the year of President McKinley eyebrows," the Oregon Historical Society has sought to preserve and promote the history, politics, and culture of the nation's 33rd state through publications, lectures, and the exhibits at the Oregon History Museum. Befriend the past with the Oregon My Oregon exhibit, an award-winning, interactive look at the state's odyssey that features more than 50 displays showcasing numerous artifacts and antiques, including a 9,000-year-old sagebrush sandal. Peace Corps: 50 Years of Service, which runs through June 19, celebrates a half century of peacemaking with photographs, testimonials, artifacts, and personal correspondence from more than 80 Oregonian and Washingtonian volunteers.

Hosted by the Rose City Rollers, who dubbed it the Bridgetown Brawl, the 2011 Western Regional Tournament for all-female, flat-track roller derby sends the top three leagues to the WFTDA championships. The ninth bout caps Saturday's brawl bracket with a one-hour avalanche of speeding limbs, determining a contender for the tournament's championship round and, ultimately, WFTDA's domination of every doll-parts factory in the world. Like a turf war on skates, these ferocious femmes use their concrete-inspired blocking skills to get the team's lead jammer from the back to the front of the pack, evading elbow thrusts, hip checks, and both literal and metaphorical clotheslines.

The entire Earth spins inside of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. It's as if visitors have launched into outer space, where they can see everything—clouds forming over North America, hurricanes churning in the tropics, and millions of animals in migration. Night falls, and the major cities light up Earth's continents like misshapen Christmas trees. Just then, the planet disappears, and in its place rises a spinning orb of fire and violent solar storms: the sun. The display, appropriately titled Science On a Sphere, is actually a 6-foot animated globe powered by a series of video projectors. It serves as the perfect centerpiece for OMSI's Earth Hall, which explores geology, tectonics, and everything else that makes Earth a living planet. The hall's exhibits let visitors control wind turbines and launch satellites into space.

Earth Hall is only one section of the museum, however. More hands-on activities wait within Turbine Hall, where kids design bridges and boats. Visitors can tour the USS Blueback, a U.S. Navy attack submarine that guarded the Pacific for 31 years, or gaze towards the heavens inside of Kendall Planetarium, which uses real-time 3D graphics to transport audiences into the very heart of black holes. Even Theory, the onsite eatery, has an educational focus. The restaurant's displays explore food sciences while Chef Ryan Morgan and his team use local ingredients to cook meals in full view.

Although every corner of OMSI sparks scientific curiosity, the museum's educational programs take things one step further. The faculty hosts astronomy camps and teaches 50-minute interactive labs in which kids might make soap or dissect a squid—a requisite skill for any future biologist or sushi chef.

Run by a team of Portland fanatics and passionate cyclists, Pedal Bike Tours shares their enthusiasm for the city through entertaining and accessible tours. The routes take advantage of Portland’s extensive network of bike lanes to meander through downtown, along the Willamette River, and through lush Forest Park. Each guide’s expertise comes in handy on food tours and microbrewery tours, as riders stop for bites or pints and soak up info about each of their stops. A few tours take riders beyond Rose City limits, and include van trips to explore Oregon’s coast or wine country. Pedal Bike Tours keeps tours as safe and comfortable as possible by providing helmets, locks, and lights, as well as rain jackets and jousting lances if necessary.

Brody Theater’s battle-tested improv artists throw themselves onstage and embrace unscripted chaos, creating hilarious shows for eager audiences. Friday's 8 p.m. slot is often occupied by "Micetro" or "Theatresports," both competitive improv-offs where observers offer suggestions to build the scenes from scratch. Sixteen improv gladiators stride in to "Micetro," which runs through March 25, but only one rises victorious after the audience votes their numbers down to a one-on-one joke duel. "Theatresports" splits performers into two teams who issue challenges to each other, using audience suggestions to out-funny their opponents. Unlike "Micetro," "Theatresports" is scored by Brody's judges, to whom the audience should direct boos and marriage proposals. Crowds can carbo-load their chuckle muscles with a selection of food and drinks, including wraps (starting at $6), beers (starting at $2.75), and wine (starting at $4).

Movable walls, luminous rocks, mirrors, ramps, and unexpected dead ends. These are just a few of the obstacles players face at Ultrazone Laser Tag, a two-level, 5,000-square-foot arena that, much like a spring-break DJ’s apartment, is always flooded with black light and fog. Before separating up to 36 players into three teams and setting them loose in the arena, a game master delivers rules and moves teammates to the vesting room, where they grab laser guns and flashing vests. As the beat of pulsing music hammers the arena, players stream into the field, launching beams at opponents and attempting to seize their strongholds. When players are hit they aren't eliminated from the action; a computer keeps a running tally of points throughout the mission and awards champion status to the team with the highest count after the game. The facility also includes an arcade packed with video games as well as air-hockey tables, pinball, and a snack area.