Niagara Power Project
Power Vista

Imagine being able to reach out your hand and touch the power emanating from Niagara Falls. A visit to the visitors center at our Niagara Power Project can almost achieve that goal.

The Power Vista, as it is known, is located 4½ miles downstream from the Falls, set amidst the spectacular scenery of the Niagara River Gorge. It features more than 50 interactive exhibits that invite visitors of all ages to have a completely hands-on experience as they learn about hydroelectricity and the historic role it has played in the Niagara Frontier.

We Make Learning Fun

Among the high-tech additions is a comprehensive Electric Lab, explaining the basics of electricity with an operating model of a hydropower turbine. Taking a more nostalgic approach, a realistic replica of a Victorian house combines local  period architecture with contemporary information on energy efficiency and electrical safety. Are you a fan of e-mail? Then send your friends and family an electronic postcard over the Internet, using our computers to place your image in one of four Niagara project backdrops.

And there’s more! A dramatic audio-visual display highlights Power Authority customers, including those Western New York firms that rely on Niagara’s economical hydroelectricity. One of the Power Vista’s original features, a large terrain map demonstrating how Niagara River water is diverted to generate electricity, has been updated with fiber optics. This birds-eye view of the region is always popular with local residents and out-of-town tourists as they try to spot area landmarks. Once you’ve studied our simulated scenery, experience the real thing firsthand by simply stepping outside onto our Observation Deck.

Art lovers will appreciate our recent restoration of the seven-foot-high mural by American painter Thomas Hart Benton that depicts Father Louis Hennepin and a group of Native Americans viewing Niagara Falls during the priest’s 17th century expedition in the New World. The mural was commissioned by the Power Authority when the Niagara project was built.

For more information or details on special programs, call us at 716-286-6661 or toll-free at 1-866-NYPA-FUN (697-2386). And while you're in the area, stop by and enjoy Niagara Falls State Park, America's oldest state park.

Contents:

• Introduction

• Come visit us

• Directions

• Calendar of Events

• Energy Education Programs

• Nearby destinations
   

What's Ahead:

April - May - Come Celebrate Earth Day with the Power Authority at our visitors centers and in the community

June 30 through July 11 - The Niagara Power Vista will host an amateur art exhibit from the Niagara Council on the Aging

News:

April 27, 2008 - Power Project to Celebrate Earth Day at Niagara Project Visitors Center

March 31, 2008 - Polly King Paintings on Display at Niagara Power Project

March 27, 2008 - Power Authority to Reopen Niagara Fishing Pier

March 24, 2008 - NYPA Marking 50th Anniversary of Niagara Construction Start (includes photos and captions)

February 14, 2008 - Computers From Power Authority Aid Packard Court School Programs

January 18, 2008 - First Greenway Dollars Awarded: State Parks Standing Committee funds restoration projects (Joint press release with NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation-Western District Niagara Falls, NY)

January 17, 2008  - Niagara Power Project Visitors Center Adds High-Tech Teaching Tools (includes photo and caption)

Read Western New York Update, our community newsletter covering NYPA activities in the region near our plant.

Niagara Power Vista brochure - .pdf (printer-friendly) version; .html (text-only) version

Be Smart, Be Safe at the Niagara Power Project - brochure - .pdf (printer-friendly) version; .html (text-only) version

Contributions and Sponsorships