Horace Mann officially opens outdoor classroom

By Phil Cobb | June 30, 2018 |

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MARYVILLE, Mo. — Despite some drizzle and mist, a large group of community members grabbed their raincoats and umbrellas to celebrate the official opening of the outdoor classroom at Horace Mann Laboratory School on June 21.

The project to create an outdoor area where students can learn while taking part in nature finished last month. While students attending summer school at Horace Mann were able to play and explore in the area, the public had not yet seen all of the features of the outdoor classroom.

Timothy Wall, the dean of Northwest Missouri State University’s School of Education, said he was proud to see the work that had been done on the area where his own children would be learning.

“My soon-to-be first- and third-grader, they deserve a classroom worthy of their intellectual and physical growth,” Wall said. “This in an outdoor classroom with a team of individuals, and I’m part of that team, that worked really hard over the time of about a year and a half to do something pretty remarkable. I think it’s turned out even better than we ever thought possible.”

The project began in July 2017 and was funded in part by a Land and Water grant worth more than $93,000 from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The other portion of funding came from Northwest, which matched the grant, allowing the campus to enhance the area just outside the Everett W. Brown Education Hall. University President John Jasinski said this showed the progress the university is pursuing.

“We have projects and we have momentum at Northwest Missouri State University, and you’re standing in part of that right here today,” Jasinki said. “Think about what this space looked like a few months ago versus what it looks like today, and what it’s serving is very specifically a description of innovation and agility at Northwest Missouri State University.”

While the outdoor classroom is designed to be a place of learning for Horace Mann students and the education students of Northwest, the area also operates as a public park in the evening and on weekends.

“This is a community property. This is open from 5:30 at night until it closes and all-day Saturday and Sunday. It’s for the public,” Wall said. “It’s not just for Northwest and not just Horace Mann; it’s a partnership.”

The area featured several areas of learning and exploring such as a 16-foot climbing structure, a small track, gardens and swings. Wall explained that the designers of the outdoor classroom, Nature Explorer, made sure the area would meet the standards of the American with Disabilities Act.

“This is the place where people of all physical ability levels can have access and full participation,” Wall said.

To welcome the community to the outdoor classroom, representatives from the school, campus and community cut a ribbon adorned in leaves and plants made by students of Horace Mann gathered from the area.

Former Principal Sandy Seipel said she believes the outdoor classroom is a step in the right direction for the school.

“The creation of this ribbon signifies Horace Mann’s commitment to project-based learning,” she said.