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April 28, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Laura Partridge, (513) 345-2658, lpartridge@cincymuseum.org Elizabeth Pierce, (513) 287-7059, epierce@cincymuseum.org
Museum Center Opens New Education and Research Facility at the Edge of Appalachia Preserve
For the past year, Cincinnati Museum Center has been overseeing construction on a new research and education facility at the Richard and Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve System. On May 10, 2008 it will officially open as the new Eulett Center. In 2003, while hiking through the woods at the Edge of Appalachia, Cincinnati Museum Center President & CEO Douglass McDonald and former Ohio Senate President Doug White, discussed how unique the preserve is, and the role it could play in the region. Later, McDonald and White began to dream of a center that would allow for the surrounding communities to develop a greater understanding of Museum Center's role at the preserve. A center that would expand opportunities for education, increase the staff's ability to offer programming, and take their work with visiting researchers to new heights. In order to move this idea forward, a request for capital appropriations from Cincinnati Museum Center was submitted to the state, a request that was backed by Senator White. As a result $2.1 million was awarded to construct the facility. As the appropriations were passing through the legislature, White suggested the center be named for his high school science teacher Charley Eulett. Eulett was born near the Ohio River town of Rome, Ohio in 1906. With the exception of his college years at Wittenberg University and Alfred Holbrook College where he received his Bachelor of Science degree, he never left the area. Eulett was a social sciences teacher at Northwest High School in Scioto County for forty years. He had a deep knowledge of the natural world and shared his knowledge with countless others. It seemed fitting to name the center in honor of a native of the area, who was a great man of science and also a great teacher. Thus, the Eulett Center was born. The Edge of Appalachia has been jointly owned and managed by Cincinnati Museum Center and The Nature Conservancy since 1959. It is a 14,000-acre preserve system, located along the western flank, or edge, of the Appalachian Escarpment. The preserve is the largest, privately owned and protected area in the state, and is home to rare species of plants and animals, as well as nationally and globally significant ecological areas. It is truly one of Ohio's natural treasures. Programmatic efforts at The Edge of Appalachia began informally in the 1960s with guided walks and hikes, but over the years have evolved to include advanced naturalist workshops, science camps and lectures. Staff also work with local Adams County schools, providing hands-on opportunities to learn about science in a "natural" classroom. The preserve is also a resource for visiting scholars and researchers. Scientists specializing in various fields of study, ranging from lichens to moths, have spent days at the preserve offering workshops and lectures in exchange for the opportunity to carry out their own research. The knowledge cultivated from these visits furthers the conservation efforts of preserve staff, expanding understanding of this vast natural area. Eulett Center will ensure that these efforts continue to grow, offering for the first time a formal classroom, a large multi- purpose room, a learning and research lab, office space, a kitchen, and accommodations for onsite researchers. The classroom and multi-purpose room are both outfitted with advanced audio/visual capabilities. Museum Center's long-term goals for the Edge of Appalachia and Eulett Center include:
Cincinnati Museum Center gratefully acknowledges operating and capital support from the City of Cincinnati, Hamilton County and the State of Ohio.
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