New Braunfels Edition | October 2022

COMMUNITY Edwards Aquifer Authority Education Outreach Center $3M center oers visitors lessons about water T he Edwards Aquifer Authority opened the doors on its $3 million Education Outreach Center in April and so far has had about 1,000 visitors. Housed in north central Bexar geology of the aquifer. We wanted to teach people about the science of the aquifer.” Talk of an educational center then became part of the EAA’s Next Gen- eration Strategic Plan, which looks long-range through the lens of inno- vation, imagination and inclusion, Gonzalez said. Sarah Valdez, EAA senior science, technology, engineer- ing, art and mathematics educator as well as EOC manager—who manages the day-to-day BY TRICIA SCHWENNESEN

Edwards Aquifer Authority sta members teach visitors about the aquifer in the Karst Theater, which was designed to look like a cave with stalagmites.

County on the grounds of Morgan’s Wonderland Camp, which was cre- ated by San Antonio business leader and philanthropist Gordon Hartman, the EOC is the nation’s rst all-ac- cessible aquifer education facility, according to EAA ocials. The purpose of the EOC is to help the EAA further its mission to educate the com- munity about the aquifer, which is integral

Edwards Aquifer Authority ocials said they hope schools and community groups will visit the free Education Outreach Center to learn through the interactive displays. HANDSON LEARNING

operations of the center—said the EOC benets the community by providing a free and safe space to learn about the Edwards Aquifer. “We all depend on the same clean water. It is the one thing that unites all living things, and now we have a place to learn about it together,” she said. Less than six months after opening to the public, EAAEOC

Five popular features of the Education Outreach Center:

“WE TALKED ABOUT HOW DO WE BRING PEOPLE TO US TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE MANAGE, ENHANCE AND PROTECT THE AQUIFER. WE WANTED TO TEACH PEOPLE ABOUT THE GEOLOGY OF THE AQUIFER. WE WANTED TO TEACH PEOPLE ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF THE AQUIFER.” ANNMARGARET GONZALEZ, EDWARDS AQUIFER AUTHORITY, SENIOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS ADMINISTRATOR

KARST THEATER: This 25-seat multiuse room provides a 360-de- gree cave-like atmosphere de- signed for immersive experiences. CLOUD CASTER: This exhibit gives visitors the chance to create clouds to demonstrate a part of the water cycle. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE DISPLAY: This 5-foot-tall, 360-degree spherical display illustrates how water and the Edwards Aquifer is part of a larger global system by showing connections to climate shifts and weather patterns. ENDANGERED SPECIES AQUARIUM: Visitors can view up close the Texas Blind Salamander and the Fountain Darter, endangered species protected by the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan. MICROEYE: Magnify slides or specimens to get a zoomed in perspective of things related to the Edwards Aquifer, such as a preserved specimen of the Comal Springs Rie Beetle, Pecks’ Cave Amphipod or a Fountain Darter.

A student uses the Cloud Caster to learn about how cloud formations.

to providing the area with safe drinking water and is also home to eight endangered and three threatened Texas species, said Ann-Mar- garet Gonzalez, EAA senior public aairs administrator. “The aquifer

The Global Perspective Display shows where water is found on Earth.

is for everyone, and we need to teach everyone about the aquifer, so it was a great partnership [with Hartman],” Gonzalez said. For the past 25 years, the EAA has taken aquifer education into schools and to community groups, she said, but then leaders in water manage- ment began to talk about what the future might look like. The EAA already has a eld research center on the same property, and the idea for the EOC was born after a scientist visited the property in 2019 to study a cave. “[We talked about] how do we bring people to us to understand how we manage, enhance and protect the aquifer,” Gonzalez asked. “We wanted to teach people about the

ocials received word in July that their permit application with Texas Parks & Wildlife was approved to house two of the area’s endangered species: the Texas Blind Salamander and the Fountain Darters, Gonzalez said. Valdez said the planned endan- gered species aquarium is her favorite feature of the EOC. “The aquarium [will] provide a soothing and tranquil environment where visitors can be at one with rare and endangered species that are found deep underground,” she said. “It is one thing to look at a photo or a video, but to sit and watch a Texas Blind Salamander move or eat is a rare treat—one that cannot be experi- enced anywhere else in San Antonio.”

The Threatened and Endangered Species Aquarium will include a Texas blind salamander.

Edwards Aquifer Authority Education Outreach Center 23400 Cibolo Vista, San Antonio Free (admission) • 210-547-2222 Make an appointment to visit online at www.eaaeoc.org.

NEW BRAUNFELS EDITION • OCTOBER 2022