Students are welcome to see salmon spawn

School of Fisheries

Resources available for educational purposes vary during the year and depend largely on the life cycle of the fish. From October through mid-December adult salmon are returning to the hatchery to spawn. The fish are artificially spawned and eggs are incubated for release as smolt the following spring. The primary outreach program is through "Salmon in the Classroom," where elementary classes can get tours of the hatchery and can take home salmon eggs to raise in their classrooms. During the tours, the children can see the large Chinook and colorful Coho salmon that return to the hatchery and learn about salmon migration, the importance of water quality, and how the hatchery works. Tours run each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from October through early December and last an hour and a half. Tours can be arranged beginning in mid-September by contacting the UW Salmon in the Classroom Coordinator.

Rainbow trout are spawned from late January to the end of March. Thus, incubating eggs and early developmental stages of fish can be observed at the hatchery from October-April. After the salmon release in mid-May, the number of fish and observation opportunities dramatically decrease, although trout are always housed at the hatchery. Information regarding touring the hatchery after December can be obtained by contacting the School of Fisheries hatchery.