San Juan River Experience

San Juan River Experience

2023-2024 School Year

"Say that I starved, that I was lost and weary, that I was burned and blinded by the desert sun, footsore, thirsty, sick with strange diseases, lonely and wet and cold, but that I kept my dream!"

Our sixth graders kick off the year by spending five days in southern Utah with the Canyon Country Discovery Center. This is a culminating experience students work towards from the time they enter kindergarten and builds upon their fifth grade experiences at Teton Science School. Students spend their first night at the newly built Canyon Country Discovery Center in Monticello, Utah learning about the Colorado Plateau and gazing through their massive telescope. They then spend two nights three days camping and rafting the gentle currents of the San Juan River from Sand Island Campground (near Bluff) to Mexican Hat, Utah. Along the way, students explore Ancestral Puebloan ruins and pictographs--immersed in the ancient civilizations aspect of the social studies curriculum, the astronomical and ecosystem components of the science curriculum, and there is a strong focus on the language arts curriculum.  There are also multiple math connections and a strong writing component.

Professional river guides supervise our sixth graders along with four EBLS faculty members, bringing the student to adult ratio to about 3:1 while we are on the river. All students will be required to wear Type V life jackets (which are provided) at all times on the water. Students will be assigned to boys and girls tents with five to six students in each tent and chaperones in separate tents nearlby. We chose September for this field experience for the lower, stable river flows, and cooler temperatures.