Linfield students staying in McMinnville can add something new to their list of summer plans — the “Wings and Waves Waterpark” at Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.

The park is set to open its doors to the public June 6 with a Grand Opening Celebration, after more than two years of planning and construction.

“We were looking to attract a younger demographic,” Kasey Richter,  class of ’09 and director of Public Relations for Evergreen Museum, said. “We knew there was nothing else in the area like it.”

The creation of the park included planting a Boeing 747 jetliner atop the building where 10 water slides, a wave pool and a children’s museum will be housed.

Not all of the slides are inside the building. Several of the slides begin inside of the 747 itself, exit the plane and re-enter the building into a pool inside.

Educational exhibits designed to inform visitors about the role that water plays in society are inside the building.

The park isn’t only for education. Some features of the park are designed purely for fun, including the slides that begin inside the plane.

“There may be educational information on the stairs and in the lobby of the 747, but not on the slides themselves,” Richter said.

While the park is geared toward a younger age group, many Linfield students said that they are excited to visit the park this summer or next year.

“I will most definitely try to make it to the water park this summer,” senior Benton Canaga said. “It looks pretty cool from the outside, and I want to check it out.”

The park also has the potential to attract visitors to McMinnville, senior Allison Navarro said.

“I don’t know if the water park will single-handedly make McMinnville a destination, but I think it will attract people from surrounding areas, as a water park is sort of an oddity in the Pacific Northwest,” Navarro said. “I also think a lot of McMinnville residents will be interested in going.”

Junior Kirstie Franceschina agreed.

“I think it might bring more people to McMinnville through the summer months as a day trip or family destination,” she said.

Admission to the park is $30 for visitors over 42 inches tall. The price is $25 for those under 42 inches and admission to the children’s museum is $15.

The price of admission may be a deterrent for college students looking to visit the park because there is not a Linfield student discount.

“I might attend the waterpark once or twice this summer, but $30 is a little too expensive for me,” Franceschina said.

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Brittany Baker/Staff reporter
Brittany Baker can be reached at [email protected].