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ARTS & CULTURE

Taking the classroom outdoors

City of Albuquerque, Explora team up to create interactive STEAM installations

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It鈥檚 full STEAM ahead at Tiguex Park, with nine new installations forming an outdoor classroom. 

A collaborative effort between the city of Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department and Explora Science Center and Children鈥檚 Museum focuses on science, technology, engineering, arts and math. 

David Simon, director of Parks and Recreation, said when he became director in 2018, he came in with the goal of implementing an outdoor classroom. 

鈥淚鈥檝e been very passionate about the concepts of outdoor classrooms and how important and how beneficial it is for kids to have hands-on experiential educational opportunities that directly connect the educational requirements to learning outside,鈥 Simon said. 

Plans and conversations were underway when the pandemic hit, putting a halt to the project. However, in early 2021, they began again. 

鈥淓xplora relit the fire because they saw an opportunity in the form of a grant opportunity,鈥 Simon said. 

Explora applied for a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and received $250,000 to build the exhibits, and the Parks and Recreation Department matched it. 

Explora wanted to keep the plans going after hearing from the community. 

鈥淲e talked in particular to one group, Fathers New Mexico, and they said, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to the park. We鈥檙e doing these things, but we wish we had more tools to bring it to life and help our kids learn,鈥欌 Joe Hastings, co-executive director of Explora, said. 

The installation consists of nine exhibits, each focused on a different STEAM aspect, with several having direct ties to New Mexico, including a poem by former Albuquerque Poet Laureate Hakim Bellamy. 

鈥淗e wrote a whole series of poems about this project and about the park,鈥 Hastings said, 鈥渁nd we worked together to pick one, and we then turned it into a panel of steel and had the poem laser cut out of the steel.鈥

Tiguex Park Outdoor Classroom

WHERE: Tiguex Park, 1800 Mountain Road NW

鈥淲ith the sun shining through, it comes to life every day,鈥 Hastings said, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 really about the park and about Albuquerque.鈥

鈥淪hadow Wall鈥 is etched steel that casts the poem onto the ground when light passes through it, creating shadow effects. 

Other exhibits include: 鈥淧erspective Illusion,鈥 stylized building facades that appear to change shape and orientation;  鈥淲ind Turbines,鈥 illustrate the difference in wind speed at different altitudes; 鈥淩eflection Tower,鈥 mirrors reflect images of city buildings and geographic features, floating and morphing in the sky; 鈥淪olar System Scale,鈥 illustrates the distances between planets; 鈥淧ebble Melodies,鈥 utilizes small stones to create tinkling, wind chime-like sounds; 鈥淗eavy Tones,鈥 a limestone block forms a litho-xylophone; 鈥淪itting Stones,鈥 stones from across New Mexico give visitor鈥檚 a place to relax; and 鈥淧arts of a Whole,鈥 a basketball court painted with decimals and fractions illustrates information about proportions and percentages. 

鈥淚 do think it represents something much, much larger, which is like that every park can and should be an outdoor classroom that blends serious learning with play,鈥 Simon said.

Simon wants to keep implementing these projects around the state. He said he believes New Mexico could have one of the best outdoor environmental learning programs in the country. 

鈥淲e want our parks to be inviting. We want them to be exciting. We want them to be activated,鈥 Simon said. 鈥淎nd seeing the public engage and use these exhibits is really rewarding.鈥