Cedar Creek Natural History Area Science and Outreach Facility

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A grant has been awarded to University of Minnesota-Twin Cities under the direction of Dr. David Tilman, to construct a 3600-square-foot research, outreach and education facility for the Cedar Creek Natural History Area (CCNHA). The proposed facility will meet the most immediate and crucial needs of the CCNHA including a large flexible meeting room with movable partitions to accommodate research, outreach, and teaching needs; a public reception area for outreach activities; and office space for research and outreach personnel. The full meeting room would handle scientific symposia, weekly seminars, large outreach presentations and other gatherings (up to 160 people) that present facilities cannot accommodate. Much of the time the room would be divided, by partitions, into three rooms (each being 530 square feet) that would provide dry laboratory space for such research needs as plant sorting and soil preparation, and classroom and small meeting room space for outreach and educational activities. The new facility will play a significant role in training the next generation of scientists, in educating teachers and journalists, and in communicating the results and implications of research results with the general public. The increasing relevance of ecological science to understanding and managing a human-dominated planet demands a synthesis of research, education and outreach. The new Cedar Creek facility will allow and encourage this synthesis by providing space for public outreach activities, space for training teachers and journalists, and space for enhancing the experiences of the of 60 to 70 undergraduates interns who train at Cedar Creek each year. All of these individuals, who would gain hands-on knowledge of science, would carry their experiences into their lives and careers, enhancing the role of science in their endeavors.