Main Street, Wyoming; 521; Teton Science School

Main Street Wyoming is made possible in part by grants from Kennicott energy proud to be a part of Wyoming's future in the uranium exploration mining and production industry and by the Wyoming Council for the Humanities and ridging lives of Wyoming people through the study of Wyoming history values and ideas. I think it's the best left. Me and the right you know it doesn't mean I want you to feel kind of like oh you have to do is learn but here you just absorb it and it just kind of surrounds you and you can't help but want to write and draw and. Express how you feel about it because it's awesome. The Teton science school enjoys a national reputation for its field ecology and natural

history counts but they do a lot more than that. I'm Deborah Hammonds and this week on Main Street Wyoming we're at the Teton Science School near Jackson. The course this week is arts and literature in nature. OK. Confines co-operates know round and its students range in age from grade school to senior citizen. The students this week are from Jackson Hole high school and the group carried him around the field because the group will be with. Tell me tell me what are your favorite things and starts with the same letter as your name. Nothing goes with it. I look at it now. Three to Pakistan technique. Was. The first.

Thing. Over the past week have students come back many many years in the past and tell us that this was the single most important thing they did in high school. Pam turnto has been bringing Jackson's students to this program for 16 years. In the four or five days that we've been here we see for many students life changing types of experiences. This is a program that integrates the arts and the science aspect with the the writing and it's a a wonderful interdisciplinary course that we all strive as teachers to get in our classrooms but it's just impossible when you move students out of the four walls and put them in this environment at the Science School with the Tetons and the and the nature element in it expands their ability to look inward and then to find out some key issues I guess that they need to write about or think about.

Roger Smith is with the faculty of the Teton Science School and host of the arts and literature in nature course. And I think it works particularly well in the winter because it is an environment that we we rarely kind of try to understand and we can try to work that understand either through a scientific. Sort of approach which some students don't respond to that. But when you ask them to just go out there and feel it and feel. A cold sort of wind driven snow in your face and then and then write about it or try to draw it it's an understanding that's coming from themselves not from someone else saying snow crystals or this shape in this diameter and they look like this and when the temperature does this they change. It's it's coming from a feeling that the science people are trying to apply them. Sort of a sort of a wow factor that here's some. Here's some and here's some facts or some information about the winter environment.

There's a sudden avian environment that's that's that's sort of alive with with life that's out of our view we can't see it that we can then discover we can explore that. Here is a blanket of snow that is. Essentially a story book that we can cut into the biggest no pants on and look at this wall of snow and it's it's truly like opening up a book. When. I am. Here they may turn into a banker or a lawyer or doctors or biologists or stay in sciences or natural historians

but they'll always have it. I always have that connection to. Their surroundings and I think that's sort of what we hope and I think that by the end of the week they often find that that's what they've done. The Teton school district is for the students attending the camp. And because of the courses outstanding reputation and competition for the 30 students are selected because of their strong desire to be here and their interest in developing writing or drawing skills. A professional artist and a writer live with us and teach workshops throughout the trance. So it is a feat of memory those two things and that is I think for most of us fall apart. Drawing on. We can take that shot occur or a shadow or something. And then when we get down your

papers it's already gone. You can. Bring it back again. So the first tool of the first kind of drilling we're going to. Do. Is match. You. Bridge that gap. Between you. And. The. Principle is. That your hands are doing all where. You are. Ready to go back. To. Doing nothing. Yes.

But. One of the treasures of the Science School is its miry museum an extensive natural history collection donated by the miry family with the condition that it be used by students during their week here the students will learn the art of journal keeping both for accurate observation and personal reflection. Carol Smith singer introduces them to the world of the naturalist at the Mary museum. Just want to give you the rest of the time till about 8:30 to explore parts of this museum that you probably never have access to. And we're going to open up all the cabinets in the back you can go look at whatever kind of specimens you want to look at. I'm going to show you were all Oscar's original sketches and watercolors are and you can look through those. But what he started out doing work as a naturalist and as a biologist it was another early 1900s there were no video cameras. Later in his life he started using regular cameras put cameras

when you know part of most scientists life back then. We have all the originals but we also have Xerox copies of us think you have the journals for this. And normally we don't let people touch the specimens because we want to because the opportunity to really look through things and possibly sketch things. It's OK for you to touch them but I mean I have to ask you to wash your hands first so you get all the oils off your hands and some of them are preserved of arsenic because that's what they have preserved with and it's not a reason for you to just pick them up and look at them but wash your hands afterwards and you'll have to worry about this move for no it's or it's from Tag Why didn't anyone tell you a rat. That's a given. That it's a raffle. Want to go in by the people from drawing from the right grab that are outside the book well enough that I feel like we're going to war because it's a big Rosalee. Yes clearly if I saw it sort of running but it was never the character that I also saw that.

But.

You look like that.

The Teton science school executive director Jackson told us how the school was started by Ted and. His idea was that he wanted to have kids that lived in these wonderful areas of the West learn about science and natural history not just in a classroom but in outdoor settings. So in 1067 he had a field camp that was over on the west side of the Snake River. And 12 students for six weeks lived in a pretty primitive field camp situation and did the first course that was called a high school field ecology. And that course is still run today at the school for six weeks in a very similar format and even spends two weeks up in a field station that we've reestablished up on the Forest Service land. And now the school is full time year round. We have 20 full time employees many of them professional Ph.D. master's level folks and other people that are in turns working

their way up to professional careers in either natural science or environmental education. Well that's quite a to go. People out in tents all of a sudden you have a professional staff doctor. I think two things lead this school to that. One is this incredible location. Many people want to spend time here and learn as much about this place as they can whether they're people that live in this valley and and want to be here and want to know it well or people that visit the more than 2 million visitors that come through Jackson Hole every year. So there's that demand to know and to learn. The second thing was was the energy of Ted major and his wife Joan and the people that supported him. People like Martin Yuri and the family other people so many friends in this valley Jackson is a very supportive community and its support for the idea and the Educational of kids in this area was great. And so there was a pressure to make it work and make it grow and to serve as many of the people and the people that wanted to learn about this stuff as

possible. Man serves as the science school's director of education have basically we have five program goals in school. The first one is to teach ecological processes and principles. The second one is to get people involved in natural history so we teach skills of a naturalist How do you observe how do you look at how do you take notes that sort of thing. The third one is research. How do scientists figure this stuff out so we teach people research principles. The fourth one is. What do you when you've got all this knowledge. How do you deal with the conflict around resource management. So we talked to kids and two adults about resource management issues and then the fifth one is sort of what this program said about what about just the aesthetics of this place and preserving it. Now those five goals permeate the whole year here. But obviously in the wintertime we do it on ski. We do it in snow and we do it with a focus on winter

ecology in the summertime. Were hiking. We're spending a lot of time outside but on foot. But you know it's kind of the same. We're teaching some of the same principles. It's just a different season. So in the summertime we broaden out a little bit and take a variety of students and then in the in the groups we try to focus on Wyoming and we work a lot with the local schools too with Jackson schools. We do keep the number small. For example when a program comes here for a week we only take 30 students. So we try to keep the student teacher ratio really good so the students can get you know high quality education. A few years ago probably eight or so we started talking to Forest Service officials and we decided that wouldn't it be nice if part of the forest could actually be designated for educational purposes and that. That actually came to be and it's a very unique designation. It's called the DFC eight which is desired future condition ate every part of the forest has a condition gets assigned to it and the DFC

8 is a unique designation only in this forest preserve the national forests and it's designated for Environmental Education. We do research in order to teach people about the scientific process and to teach them how to gather information in order to make better decisions about the world that we live in and manage. The Teton science school can't do it all and the West has an expanding population. And you know after reading many issues of the Casper Star-Tribune to see how many articles are on natural resource issues and so our hope is that through a training program we can create Qadri of professional individuals that can start other schools so they can be a school like the Teton Science School in Casper another one in the snowy range and and one up in Bozeman and over to Idaho Falls or Sun Valley we need more places to educate the young people in this western environment that we live in so that they can better handle these issues and ideas and conflicts that we run into on a regular

basis as adults and scientific information and how to how to handle it and how to put it in the public process is what we're really trying to teach as an ascetic life. The Journal writes that students during the week is a critical component of the program's success. Leslie Ryan helps the students develop their writing skills. That is only if you carry it out and if they're hungry. That was something. Today. Was. A new exercise. It was. You. Can imagine that some other things come into your life. Experiences

encounters with animals. Strange objects. The same here. As you end up with this. Particular. I want you to resist. And ask. This. Question. You need to answer from this perspective. And of course you're not going to you might not know these things are going to have to imagine put yourself in the position. Of that thing that you've studied pretty intensely. Your thoughts about what it is what its function might be. It's. An artwork. Learned. And.

They've learned about it. But more importantly about themselves. Removed from. Their minds. And hearts. Thanks. Bye. Cold breath. The passing of the messenger of her insignificant present. Past her it her anchor and her sanity as well. Within its branches. I see myself as of singular along to suture our spirits together. They're in the midst of

the earth covering the world with. A ray of friendship reaching out and begging her to join its journey with open loving arms. So she hides from her soul. She sits there strong in her seclusion. Cold hard ice maiden or

so she seems all angles and corners sharp hard angry. If you don't watch your step she'll cut you like a knife. She knows how to love. Wants To Be Loved. Hopes to be accepted yet she has been cold and aloof for so long she knows not how to take the first step. Unless been three feet away from my face stares at me as I look around to draw. As I sat in this forest on the Crow with the boat's crowing in the snow it's snowing. I saw this tree standing alone among its tall brothers who beckon the outward and upward from its wintry cloak. I know you.

Say you're anonymous. Hiding behind a mask fabricated of smiles. And forced laughter. I know you are so I thought. Until I looked into a pool. Of familiar faces and couldn't find you. I know you. But I know nothing of the pain you bear inside. Nothing of the scars hidden carefully under the folds. Of the heavy mantle. Happiness. I like. Something I wanted to do. I heard about it in my English class and. It's like a really cool. Kind of writing and drawing. Actually it's been kind of been better than I thought it would be a little bit shaky but once

you're here you kind of get into it. And so then it all comes together after a while and then they're going to bring the things and we're certainly nice and do things that you didn't think you could do. Yes nervy a lot better. Went on here and kind of I guess. Pleading with everybody. I think it's the best but. I mean. And the regular guys running they don't want. You. You feel kind of like oh you have to do is learn but here you just absorbed in it and it just kind of surrounds you and you can't help but want to write and draw and. Express how you feel about it because it's. One thing. We have four names that were born here in Jackson Hole. And. Grew up here. But it's really need to come up here and like rediscover Jackson Hole like we we kind of live with it our whole life we kind of come become used to the Tetons and the wildlife but come up here really like. You really get to know. What you what kind of unique place you live in.

In the summer a lot of people get to go out and hike and check it out get back in the mountains. But a lot of people ski is if you put a generator time people get to ski back here. And. It's totally different in the winter than in the summer. Everything is covered up and. It's just kind of a white. White. It's a lot. More. Serene. Serene That's good work. A week of the snow. Good friendship good food and the chance that maybe you'll change your life. Who wouldn't want to be here. Thanks for joining us by the mainstreet Wyoming. Mainstreet Wyoming is made possible in part by grants from Kennicott

energy. Proud to be a part of Wyoming's future in the uranium exploration mining and production industry. And by the Wyoming Council for the Humanities enriching lives of Wyoming people through the study of Wyoming history values and ideas.