Museum exhibit, reservoir highlight Lubbock’s Brazos connection
Photo courtesy of Pacific Studios
In the western reaches of the Brazos River basin, Lubbock is the largest community. It offers visitors a museum exhibit celebrating the Brazos, as well as the opportunity to enjoy water recreation at Lake Alan Henry, the most recent reservoir built with the help of the Brazos River Authority.
One of Lubbock’s feature attractions is “Texas Alive!: The Brazos River Journey” a 6,000 square foot tribute to the river, which highlights the flora and fauna (plants and animals) of the 840-mile Brazos River basin. The exhibit, housed at the Science Spectrum & Omni Theater, 2579 S. Loop 289, includes a public aquarium as part of a sprawling tribute to the river which traces its origins to the Texas-New Mexico border and flows to the Gulf of America. The aquarium is the largest between Fort Worth and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The exhibit includes 28 interactive displays such as an underwater camera and “Swim Like a Fish” presentation that shows how fish propel themselves through water. Nineteen aquatic tanks and 12 wildlife enclosures provide up-close glimpses of some of the wildlife which populates the Brazos basin.
The celebration of the Brazos traces the pathway of the river from where it exists as a small stream to where it transforms into a rolling river.
In addition to the Brazos River exhibit, the Science Spectrum & Omni Theater features physical science exhibits, the Lubbock Children’s Museum, live animal shows, and an animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex and several other attractions.
A lake for drinking water and recreation
Lake Alan Henry, which has inflows from Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River, is owned and operated by the City of Lubbock. It was built in the early 1990s (created by the construction of the John T. Montford Dam in 1993) on the Brazos River in Garza and Kent counties. The lake provides water as well as recreational opportunities for people living in the Lubbock area. The City of Lubbock took ownership of the lake from the BRA in 2005.
The 2,880 acre lake was built as an alternative drinking supply to Lake Meredith, which is located much further from Lubbock (about 30 miles north of Amarillo) and provides the majority of Lubbock’s water. In 2012, Lake Alan Henry began providing water for Lubbock, and is considered an important water source for the future.
Although the lake is 65 miles southeast of the City of Lubbock, it is an important resource for the region. Amenities at the lake include hiking trails and 33 primitive campsites. The trail winds through the Samuel W. Whal Recreational Area, a 580-acre site owned and operated by the City of Lubbock. The trail is 6 feet wide and 2.5 miles long. Loops of the trail allow different hikes. One thing to keep in mind is that you must bring your own drinking water to the trail. None is available onsite. Also, wildlife is plentiful, so hikers should be on the lookout for rattlesnakes or feral hogs. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the trail, and pets must be kept on a leash.
Boating, water skiing and swimming are also popular activities at the lake.
Hunting and fishing opportunities are abundant at Lake Alan Henry. A variety of fish can be caught from the lake, including smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, white crappie, channel catfish, bluegill and gizzard shad. The steep and rocky shoreline area has become a haven for spotted bass, as well. The record largemouth bass, weighing 15 pounds, was caught on March 31, 2006. Game which can be hunted in the lake area includes dove, deer, quail, feral hog and spring turkey.
Hunting information is available at
https://www.mylubbock.us/departmental-websites/departments/lake-alan-henry/hunting-information.
For more information on the Science Spectrum’s Brazos Alive exhibit or the museum, visit
http://www.sciencespectrum.org.