Schramm Education Center
Story and Photos by Jeff Kurrus
Formally Ak-sar-ben Aquarium, this interactive nature
destination sets the bar for outdoor education.
T
wo friends – a third grader and fourth grader –
bounced from one activity to the next at the newly
renovated Schramm Education Center. They hopped
on the virtual reality mountain bikes, then marveled at
at a 90-pound common snapping turtle. They picked up
magnifying glasses, slid down a tree slide, cast line from
a fi shing reel and yelled "gross" when they looked at their
own arms beneath a microscope. Then they saw the touch
tank where paddlefi sh and shovelnose sturgeon swam
inches below the water.
And they had only been at the new center for 15 minutes.
Constantly Changing
"We want you to come in here, so then you want to
spend more time out there," said Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission Outdoor Education Program Manager Lindsay
Rogers when talking about the newly opened, 14,000
square-foot building. To accomplish this goal, Rogers and a
team of colleagues designed the center looking toward the
future of nature education.
Fifth grade elementary school teacher Melissa Nelson
was no stranger to the center's predecessor, the Ak-sar-
ben Aquarium. "My family and I frequently came to the
aquarium," she said during a visit with her class from
Patriot Elementary in Papillion, "but my students absolutely
love the new place. It's a lot more hands-on than it was
before. I'm already planning the summer with my own
kids."
The hands-on portion was a pivotal component of the
TOP: Koco Janssen, Averi Bridges and Maddie Kurrus
of Gretna play at the Schramm Education Center.
RIGHT: Kylie Raess of Gretna explores with a
magnifying glass.
New
Opportunities in
Learning
30 Nebraskaland • June 2019
