Mount Evans Outdoor Education Laboratory School

Mount Evans Outdoor Education Laboratory School has a rich and colorful history beginning with the Homestead Act of the early 1900’s. In 1902 John Newman acquired property in this area under the Homestead Act and built a lucrative sawmill. Quickly, Regina and Clarence Dodge acquired the land from John Newman and several other land owners in the area. The combined purchases made up the ranch owned for many years by the Dodge Family. The property was used as a summer home for the Dodge family and quickly turned into rich farming land. Hay, oat, grain and barley were all farmed in the area. The Dodge Family owned, operated and enjoyed the property in this area from 1907 to 1961.

In 1961 the Dodge Family sold the current 424 acres of land to Jefferson County Public Schools. This land now serves as Mount Evans Outdoor Education Laboratory School. This school hosts 3,000 Jeffco sixth grade students, approximately 600 Jeffco High School students and about 150 Jeffco teachers each year. Students enjoy a 5 day 4 night stay at the base of Mount Evans learning and enjoying lessons in ecology, forestry, history, geology and wildlife. Students learn social skills in interdependence and life skills as they learn to be away from home developing independence and self-confidence. Students enjoy unique experiences such as: hiking, fishing, archery, sand painting, snow shoeing and animal tracking.

Mount Evans Outdoor Education Laboratory School provides one of the best elementary astronomy programs in the state with 3 state of the art telescopes and lessons in star charting, computer simulations and spectroscopy. Students participate in evening programs of storytelling, mountain men, music, dance and live bird presentations. All of these experiences combined cannot speak to the magical impact of a week spent at Outdoor Lab.

For 50 years, some 300,000 students have come and walked among the trees of the outdoor lab sites, forming new ideas and learning new concepts. From these ideas and concepts, children have walked away inspired to become scientists, naturalists, engineers, astronomers, park rangers and teachers. Outdoor Lab has become a rite of passage for the Jefferson County community. Grandparents and grandchildren are beginning to share memories of Jackson Pond, the big tree on the Forestry Trail, Mushroom Rock, getting bull’s eyes in archery and eating corn bread from the wood burning stove in the Dodge Lodge mansion.

Mount Evans Outdoor Education Laboratory School is a place of magic and it continues to inspire and teach children every day through outdoor, hands-on, interactive, authentic learning.