Planning KMA: Great Sand Dunes National Park

A hidden gem amidst the Rocky Mountain Range, The Great Sand Dunes National Park is a paradise of diverse microhabitats from desolate desert to alpine ridges.

This summer, Keystone Mountain Adventures (KMA) will dive into this amazing landscape during our 13-day Research Focus trip. When planning this trip I thought to myself, What teenager would want to spend their summer doing research? The many experiences that comprise this program make it much more than a simple research project. In many schools today there can be a disconnect between classroom education and real-world application, due to an entirely indoor classroom or lab setting. At its very essence, science is the study of the world around us and students rarely have the chance to experience that world indoors. Although classrooms offer a more organized and fundamental take on science, the research involved in this trip will give teenagers the chance to get dirty and experience the kind of science that field researchers do in their careers every day.

We designed Keystone Mountain Adventures to be so much more than a research trip. It’s the backpacking trip of a lifetime, a white water rafting adventure, a chance to challenge yourself with rock climbing, and finally soaking it all in at the beautiful river-side pools at Princeton Hot Springs.

I have led multiple trips for Keystone Science School, but have never been more excited than I am for this one. Not only do these teenagers grow more confident and independent, but they also become smarter, more balanced individuals in every aspect. Unknowingly, even to myself on my first trip, campers all become a part of a new family of peers that can only be found on an adventure like this.  The magic that happens on these trips that can never be explained, only experienced.