Place-Based Learning: Case Studies

This is a supplement to an article on place-based learning that appeared in the May/June 2016 issue of Dimensions magazine.

In a green park just beyond historic Old Town Fort Collins and bordered by the local public library, Fort Collins Museum of Discovery’s Heritage Courtyard welcomes visitors back to the early years of this Northern Colorado city. Founded as a military outpost in 1864, Fort Collins evolved into a desirable place for pioneers to settle with access to agriculture (fertile soil for sugar beets), goods (along a major train route), and education (home to Colorado’s land-grant university). Here in the Heritage Courtyard, youth in the museum’s week-long Boxelder Summer Program touch, explore, interpret, and learn within the Boxelder Schoolhouse (built 1905) and three pioneer cabins (built 1859, 1864, and 1882).