天美影视传媒

EATONVILLE, Washington 鈥� The students examine logs, learn about glaciology, study old-growth trees, eat edible plants and get up close to a real volcano.

They hike, measure tree trunks, bird watch and spy on marmots as Mount Rainier鈥檚 glaciated summit looms above, a crown in the clouds.

For four days in September, a group of kids from Yakima鈥檚 Wilson Middle School set aside their daily lives and immerse themselves in outdoor science at the 天美影视传媒鈥檚 .

鈥淭hat opens up their eyes,鈥� said Matt Meyer, a seventh-grade teacher at Wilson Middle School. 鈥淚t really allows them to have an opportunity to get out of the classroom and learn what we鈥檙e trying to teach them.鈥�

Each week in the fall and spring, a different group of students come for the UW鈥檚 four-day curriculum that can flex from 4th to 12^th grade, but aims squarely at Meyer鈥檚 middle school students.

Six years ago, Meyer, a professional baseball player turned science teacher, discovered the Mount Rainier Institute while searching for similar programs on Facebook. Each year since, Meyer has organized resources to bring about 50 students from Yakima to Charles L. Pack Experimental Forest, where the Institute is based.

Away from their daily responsibilities, in the woods, the students love it.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really refreshing to see them learning in a fun way without so much weight on their shoulders,鈥� sixth-grade teacher April Adkison said. 鈥淭hey get to be kids.鈥�

The days and nights include campfires, singing and epic games of tag. But with all this happening at the base of the state鈥檚 tallest mountain, among the Douglas-fir, every moment is instructive.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e learning and they don鈥檛 even know it. It鈥檚 great,鈥� Adkison said.

That鈥檚 made a big impact on students, like 12-year-old Alex Hurtado. He said he hopes to return and his sights are aimed high. Next year, he says he鈥檇 like to stand on Rainier鈥檚 14,411-foot peak.

鈥淢y week has been very fun,鈥� the seventh grader said. 鈥淚t is fun because it is like going up into the sky. It is a mountain that is a volcano, that you never know when it will explode, and I would like to keep coming every day.鈥�

Invoking a love of nature and science has been part of the Institute, a program of the UW鈥檚 College of the Environment, since its beginnings in 2012.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a variety of different things that happen at a place like this that really can inspire a kid,鈥� said John Hayes, the Institute鈥檚 director.

That inspiration and connection to place is what drove the National Park Service to develop an overnight school-based program at Mount Rainier. Pack Forest 鈥� with its existing bunk houses, dining facilities and teaching space 鈥� was a perfect fit and the program took root, Hayes said. Tuition is $390 per student, but the actual cost is closer to $500. The UW makes up the difference, largely through grants, fundraising and timber sales from the 4,300-acre forest.

shows that having an immersive experience like the one the Institute offers benefits children鈥檚 educational career trajectory and makes them healthier, happier and smarter, Hayes said. The Institute鈥檚 curriculum is equivalent to spending a couple of weeks in the classroom, but with a more lasting impact.

鈥淭hey tend to remember and retain that knowledge that they wouldn鈥檛 in a normal classroom setting,鈥� Hayes said. 鈥淭hey take it back to their classroom. They tend to get along better with each other. They tend to be more enthusiastic about going to school and being engaged in the academic side of things.鈥�

Pack Forest, acquired in 1920s by UW thanks to Charles Pack to be a 鈥渟how window forest,鈥� is a long way from Rainier Vista on the UW鈥檚 Seattle campus, the students still get the feel that they鈥檙e in a university environment, Hayes said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 this real collegiate feel here that鈥檚 not lost on our students,鈥� he said. They鈥檙e on a university campus, they鈥檙e doing presentations for their research projects and there might be a UW graduate student in the audience.

The core curriculum is designed to take the kids on a journey of discovery. The first day is devoted to orientation and sets the tone. There鈥檚 an evening campfire, but this isn鈥檛 summer camp.

Day two is a 12-hour lesson in forestry and ecology. The students design an experiment, come up with a hypothesis and then collect data both in Pack Forest鈥檚 old-growth forest and in the 100-year-old managed forest.

鈥淭hey go through an authentic science experience,鈥� Hayes said.

The topics vary. One group from Wilson Middle School looked at the availability of edible plants in the forest, hypothesizing that there鈥檇 be more to eat in old-growth versus the younger, managed forest. The students, who called themselves the Yakimaniacz, emphasis on the Z, found out that the opposite was true, said Conor Lough, one of the Institute鈥檚 charismatic instructors.

On day three, the kids visit Mount Rainier National Park.

鈥淥n this mountain they get to see this gorgeous paradise of the natural world that as a scientist, as an adult, they could potentially explore,鈥� Lough said.

They wrap up the week presenting their scientific research findings to one another.

鈥淟earning science out here is very fun because there are a lot of trees that you normally don鈥檛 pay attention to, you just know that they provide oxygen,鈥� said Hurtado, one of the students. 鈥淎nd, it is really fun.鈥�

Brianna Dorminy, 13, also enjoyed the time outside of the classroom.

鈥淚 liked getting my hands dirty,鈥� the eighth-grader said.

Being outside, seeing plants they never would have in Yakima, all help make the experience memorable, said Amaya Jimenez, 13.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really cool that we get that freedom that we wouldn鈥檛 get at school,鈥� she said.

Photos above: Students experience immersion in nature as they learn at UW’s Mount Rainier Institute.

Meyer, one of the teachers, said he loves the leadership that the students bring back to their Yakima classrooms. Students who get to go to Mount Rainier share their experiences with other students, and encourage their peers to attend the following year.

鈥淭hey hear about it and they get led by these kids,鈥� Meyer said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 an amazing thing to see.鈥�

After the school group has packed into their big yellow school bus for the ride back to Yakima, Hayes pauses to reflect on the life-changing days the students have had.

鈥淚 know that when they leave here they鈥檝e had an experience that will stick with them for a long time 鈥� a really positive one outdoors, that can lead to all kinds of incredible things in their life,鈥� Hayes said. 鈥淣ot the least of which is a connection to nature and the environment, and hopefully a desire to take care of what鈥檚 out here.鈥�

See a related story on (CBS affiliate).