Outdoor Lab Foundation

Outdoor Lab engages all Jefferson County sixth-grade students (approximately per year) in a weeklong residential, environmental, and civic education experience in the mountains. Outdoor Lab is impactful because it carefully integrates proven youth development models, including experiential education, life-skills training, outdoor recreation, and mentorship. The curriculum and program format work in tandem to help students deepen their understanding of classroom curricula through hands-on experiences, realize their leadership potential, and advance social-emotional learning. Very few outdoor programs in the country operate at a large scale, have such inspirational and emotive campuses, provide the depth and breadth of programming, and tie back to the curricula being taught at home schools. Each year, sixth-grade students will attend Outdoor Lab supported by an additional High School Leaders and Interns. The Outdoor Lab Program has enhanced the quality of life for generations of Jeffco youth and has been a moment of joy for thousands who still reflect fondly about their time at Mount Blue Sky or Windy Peak. It remains a program venerated by other school districts and modeled after throughout the country. Beyond the lessons in outdoor skills, natural history, communication, teamwork, and leadership that are part of this outdoor experience, there is an underlying process through which the trip is rendered meaningful in the lives of Outdoor Lab participants.