Log In


Reset Password
Lifestyle

Four Corners School of Outdoor Education shows off new discovery center

MONTICELLO, Utah – Sitting at the crossroads of the vast Colorado Plateau, this quaint town of 2,000 is surrounded by national parks, mountains, rivers and red rock canyons that define the region.

So in 2002 when the Four Corners School of Outdoor Education began planning for a brick-and-mortar campus to centralize its popular natural-resource education programs, Monticello was a good fit.

Thirteen years later, and with $8 million in fundraising, the Canyon Country Discovery Center was born, a flagship facility built along the flanks of the Abajo Mountains.

The 21,000-square-foot campus sits on 48 acres just off U.S. 191 north of town. Its unique hybrid format combines a hands-on science center open to the public with an outdoor education school focusing on the natural wonders and people of the Colorado Plateau.

The center attracts tourists with cutting-edge exhibits, while also offering an array of established outdoor education programs and tours available for schools, teachers, tourists, individual students and adults.

“We’ve been a traditional field school with a 30-year history. Now, we’ve added a campus and discovery center where the traveling public can stop and learn about the nature and science of the area, get inspired and sign up for programs,” said Marketing Director Lindi Bradshaw during a community preview of the campus earlier this month.

High-tech exhibits

At the discovery center, a circular main exhibit hall with a towering ceiling features a half-dozen hands-on scientific displays focusing on gravity, astronomy, landscapes, soundscapes, seed distribution and the mysterious properties of magnetic fields. Eventually, there will be five content areas with a total of 30 exhibits.

“We’re showing off science in a fun, hands-on way that you almost don’t realize you’re learning,” said Michael McGlothlen, exhibit director. “The idea is that later, when experiencing the outdoors in some way or learning in a classroom, you have an ‘Aha!’ moment of understanding.”

At the landscape exhibit, kids and adults push and dig sand into different forms. A high-tech projector uses real-time videos and color graphics to instantly show topography and how bodies of water react to changes in landforms made by participants.

“It’s cutting-edge technology that was made open source, so we are developing it into our curriculum,” McGlothlen said.

Nearby, adults play with a magnetoscope that shows how two bodies of gravity can control mass. NASA unsuccessfully tried to use the concept to transfer fuel in space, he said. Now, researchers believe it may have cancer-fighting properties by helping to target diseased cells.

A custom soundscape exhibit will feature the sounds of the Colorado Plateau, from birds to mammals. The prototype designed by McGlothlen and educator Danielle Frohn was done in partnership with Utah’s Western Soundscapes using software designed by Cornell University.

“It will be the most extensive sound library of Colorado Plateau using the Cornell software,” McGlothlen said. “Users will be able to select birds or animals and get a full audio and visual experience. The next time they go on a hike, they’ll recognize that canyon wren or piñon jay.”

Educational opportunities

Down the hall in a classroom, science educator April Baisan explains dendrochronology, the study of trees, to young students. In another classroom, education coordinator Rebecca Bailey is showing kids and adults how to measure their lung capacity. Next, she explains an exhibit of Mormon pioneer wagon technology, then moves on to a hands-on display of microbiology as seen through a microscope.

“We’re using placed-based education that connects to the Colorado Plateau in some way,” Bailey said. “It’s an amazing new facility.”

Marcia Hunt of Monticello is impressed and excited for the opportunities for her family.

“My young son is showing a real interest in science, so this is an excellent opportunity for him to learn the concepts early on,” she said. “Nationwide, science and math skills are declining, so having a science-based learning center here is a real advantage for local schools.”

The campus also is partnering with sPower, which is building a $125 million wind farm nearby with 27 turbines.

“It is a perfect opportunity to incorporate renewable energy, aeronautics and physics into our exhibits and curriculums,” Bradshaw said.

Economic boost

The new campus and Discovery Center is a new economic engine for southeastern Utah, said Bill Boyle, editor of the San Juan Record.

“We have 2 million visitors that pass through every year, coming and going from the many national parks and monuments in the area. This will help stop a portion of them,” he said. “They can learn something about the place, book a trip, then have a meal and stay in a hotel. It’s a real draw to the area and has spurred more business already.”

The school employees 20 professional educators, tour guides and administrators. Another five people were hired for the new discovery center, and the plan is to expand.

“I just moved to Monticello for this job, and there are a lot of affordable houses to choose from,” McGlothlen said.

The school serves about 6,000 people annually, said Executive Director Janet Ross. The new business model predicts that 35,000 visitors, teachers and students will participate in programs at the new campus and discovery center, with another 97,000 people predicted to participate through outreach programs.

The Discovery Center is expected to open to the public in spring, with a grand opening next fall.

jmimiaga@the-journal.com

On the Net

www.fourcornersschool.org



Reader Comments