COMMUNITY Edwards Aquifer Authority Education Outreach Center $3M center o ers visitors lessons about water T he Edwards Aquifer Authority to teach people about the geology of the aquifer. We wanted to teach peo- ple about the science of the aquifer.” Talk of an educational center BY TRICIA SCHWENNESEN
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 County on the grounds of Morgan’s Wonderland Camp, which was created by Gordon Hartman, a San Antonio business leader and philanthropist, the EOC is the nation’s rst all-ac- cessible aquifer education facility, according to EAA o cials. The purpose of the EOC is to help the EAA further its mission to educate the community about the aquifer, which is integral to providing the area with safe drinking water and is also home to eight endangered and three threatened Texas species, said Ann-Margaret Gonzalez, EAA senior public a airs administrator. “The aquifer 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 leaders in water management began to talk about the future. The EAA already has a eld research center on the property, and the idea for the EOC was born after a scientist visited 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
then became part of the EAA’s Next Generation Strategic Plan, which takes a long-range look through the lens of innovation, imagination and inclu- sion, Gonzalez said. Sarah Valdez, EAA senior science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics educator and EOC manager, said the EOC bene ts the community by providing a free and safe space to learn about the 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, EOC o cials received word in July that a permit application with the Texas Fish & Wildlife Service was approved to house two endangered species: the Texas blind salamander and fountain darters, Gonzalez said. Valdez said the planned endangered 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 experienced anywhere else in San Antonio.”
Edwards Aquifer Authority sta members teach visitors about the aquifer in the Karst Theater, which was designed to look like a cave with stalagmites.
Edwards Aquifer Authority o cials said they hope schools and community groups will visit the free Education Outreach Center to learn through the interactive displays. HANDS ON LEARNING
Three popular features of the Education Outreach Center:
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 are part of a larger global system by showing connections to climate shifts and weather patterns.
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A student uses the Cloud Caster to learn about how cloud formations.
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The Global Perspective Display shows where water is found on Earth.
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.
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NORTH SAN ANTONIO EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022
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