Erie Canal Discovery Center

"The guide was pleasurable, knowledgeable, and interesting to listen to. The interactive learning centers were fun. The short movie kept your attention and was informative. There were plaques to read and items for kids to build. The whole museum can be completed in an hour or less. This would make an excellent upper elementary/junior high home school field trip. We went during the off season; if there was a group of more than 20, the space would be crowded and you would need to wait for turns at the exhibits."

"Date of visit: Mon Aug 7th The Erie canal is a real marvel of engineering. We have visited the Erie Canal locks in Lockport many times, and enjoyed it, so a visit to the discovery centre was in order to learn the history of its construction, design, and importance to western and upstate new york. This is a small museum with a number of artefacts, information on the canal and how the locks work. There is a 10 minute video that is actually quite fun. If you are ever in the Lockport area, be sure to visit Discovery centre, as well as the locks, explore the caves, and ride the canal."

"This center was incredibly well done! The 18m video is the most clever I've ever experienced....but I'm not going to spoil it for you. Very modern displays with informative sections on how the canal was built, how it works, how it changed New York, and of course biographical pieces on the people who designed, built and later worked on the canal. Kiss loved the Canal Kids Corner, where they got to dress in period clothing and listen to the stories of real "canal kids". We spent about 44 minutes in the museum and reas EVERYTHING, a few minutes in the giftshop and about 45 minutes at the lock. It takes about 30 minutes for a boat to pass through, and was very fun to watch the lock in action and talk with the guy who operates it. $6/adult, $5/senior kids under 12 are free."

"A MUST! This museum gets you much more than you'd expect for the low admission price. There's an interactive film about riding a boat through the locks that is SO GREAT. The staff is so knowledgeable and it's really exciting if you like history, geology, engineering. Do the museum, then head to the locks. So much better than the overpriced boat trip through the locks. And the gift shop is full of really cool stuff at BARGAIN prices. Check it out, do your holiday shopping early. Oh, and there's a kids' area where they can do dress-up and have interactive exhibits. I loved this museum, it truly exceeded expectations."

"I stopped here on while on the Ride the Erie Canal Bike Tour. Very interesting lock to visit. You can still see the marks in the iron railings from the tow ropes. Amazing to see what was built with 1820's technology and it still works today."