I began my journalism career 24 years ago with Soccer San Diego, so when I saw the preview of “Amazon,” which opened October 1 at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, I had to think of South America differently than with some of my past assignments. As it turns out, the Amazon is just as impressive as any South American soccer team.

“Amazon” covers the watershed and the nearby indigenous tribes along with the river. As is the case with a couple of its South American soccer counterparts, the Amazon is probably more powerful and more multifaceted than any river in CONCACAF (that’s a...