Over 180 schools and colleges across the Flint Hills now have a permanent new exhibit mounted on their walls: a first-of-its-kind map of the Flint Hills area and remaining tallgrass prairie, alongside related educational text and colorful illustrations in three versions: elementary, middle, and high school/college.  

The map exhibits will reach over 95,000 students, and were recently delivered to each participating school by the You Are Here:  Flint Hills Map & Education Program, a project of the Flint Hills Discovery Center Foundation.  The program’s purpose is “to deepen students’ knowledge, pride, and understanding of their special place in the world – the Flint Hills.”

“Each map has a custom-placed ‘You Are Here’ arrow pointing to the school’s location – to give students a strong sense of their place within this remarkable region,” explains Program Coordinator, Annie Wilson of Elmdale.

The map also features the education program’s web address for access to hundreds of learning activities customized to the Flint Hills region, giving teachers place-based education tools to connect learning to students’ own lives and environments.

“The schools received these museum-quality maps and curriculum at no cost, funded by numerous foundations, businesses and individuals who have a passion for the prairie and education,” states Program Director, Emily Hunter Connell of El Dorado.

For more information on the You Are Here: Flint Hills Map & Education Program, including list of participating schools, see www.flinthillsdiscovery.org/map or call 620-273-8301.