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If not for a bit of jealousy, the ‘s newest tourist attraction might not be under construction.

When the opened a factory in Boardman in 2001, the port’s general manager, Gary Neal, hoped it would have a visitors’ center similar to the one at the group’s flagship factory in Tillamook. That facility expanded twice, in 1979 and 1994, to accommodate nearly 1 million guests annually.

But the plans for the Boardman plant involved only making cheese. After the disappointment wore off, Neal began thinking.

鈥淲e have lots of food processing around here 鈥� french fry plants and vegetable facilities, as well as a variety of alternative energy plants,鈥� Neal said. 鈥淚’m able to see how the technology is evolving and advancing, but most people can’t.鈥�

The Port of Morrow, which encompasses more than 12,000 acres of land near Boardman, is now building an approximately $6 million interactive visitors’ center of its own. The Sustainable Agriculture and Energy (SAGE) Center will show off the technologies, processes and products that drive the economy in rural Morrow County.

The 23,000-square-foot complex is being built along Interstate 84, with the port serving as the general contractor. But Portland-based is designing and creating the unique exhibits that will fill the space.

Formations is in the final design phase for several interactive, audiovisual displays that will highlight the technology used in food processing and farming, and the science behind alternative energy production.

In one corner of the exhibit hall, visitors will be able to step into what appears to be the basket of a hot air balloon. The basket will lift and then rock back and forth as large movie projections help passengers imagine they are soaring over forests in the north end of Morrow County, through irrigated wheat fields and along the Columbia River to the Port of Morrow.

The 10,000-square-foot exhibit space also will feature a moving sculpture that shows how a potato becomes french fries as well as a tractor ride that lets drivers plow virtual fields and then see how straight their paths were.

鈥淲e’re doing a couple of really cool experiences in there,鈥� said Phil Buettner, Formations’ general manager. 鈥淥ur work is often likened to the (). When we say we build OMSIs, people actually get it.鈥�

For Buettner, creating a successful exhibit is about integrating materials and textures with audiovisual elements that create a sensory educational experience. All of the components are custom fabricated on Southeast 202nd Avenue in Portland.

The variety of interactive displays challenged the construction workers.

鈥淲e’ve got miles and miles of conduit underneath the slab,鈥� project manager Mark Patton said. 鈥淐oordinating all of that is the hardest part because we don’t want to miss anything.鈥�

Plans for the SAGE Center got off the ground in 2009 when the Legislature offered $2.27 million in state lottery money. The state granted $1.8 million more last year, and the port and local companies are contributing, although total project costs and are not finalized and money is still being sought, according to Neal.

Architect Ross Farland and consulting designer Terence Thornhill tried to reflect the area’s agricultural industries in as much of the design as possible. The entrance to the SAGE Center features cylindrical towers, so that visitors feel like they are walking into a grain silo.

鈥淲e wanted to pay homage to the abundant agricultural influences without being overly playful with them,鈥� Thornhill said.

When the facility opens next year, potentially in March, it will also include a 200-seat theater and a gift shop.

Notably absent from the project, however, are any references to coal. Oregon’s only coal-fired plant is in Boardman. The plant, owned by , is scheduled to stop burning the fossil fuel by the end of 2020.

However, Australian-based has filed initial permits for a project that would transport coal by rail to the Port of Morrow, where it would be transferred to barges and shipped down the Columbia River to a proposed facility at the Port of St. Helens.

But Neal said that coal doesn’t have a place in the new educational center.

鈥淭hat’s a different issue 鈥� it’s not part of the alternative energy message we’re displaying,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’ve got wind energy, methane digesters, alternative fuels and natural gas; that’s the message that needs to be shared.鈥�