The Outdoor Classroom

Hexagon in shape, the outdoor classroom commands the best corner on the original phase of the Beaver Boardwalk. The idea here was to provide a larger area for small groups to use. Maybe it's a little small for a full school class, but that doesn't seem to matter. And who might have imagined what innovative uses might occur? I've personally seen yoga, a game of chess, and a watercoulor artist at her easel. Hinton Town Council has held meetings there, and someone told me that it was used once for wedding pictures. And yes, it's used by school groups. That's all great - just the kind of things I had in mind.

There's a story behind the hexagon shape. I thought that shape would be interesting and more efficient for talking to a group. The construction of a hexagon was another matter altogether. Fortunately for me, Mark Schoenberger and some of his kids volunteered just when I was trying to figure out the framing. Mark has a lot of carpentry experience and with his knowledge between the two of us we got the framing done in record time. Not bad considering there was about 6" of water on top of mud and ice at the time, which made for treacherous footing and more than one pratfall by both of us. We finished muddy and triumphant. Another great day building the boardwalk!