Finding Minnesota: Winona State's Floating Classroom
WINONA, Minn. (WCCO) – Students in southeast Minnesota are using a new floating classroom on the Mississippi River to study everything from geology to performance arts.
The Cal Fremling is a $1.4 million boat, christened last summer as an educational tool at Winona State University, but it's available to the general public as well.
On any given day, biology students might reserve it to study the river's flora and fauna, and the next day, it could be mass communication students with their cameras or chemistry students with microscopes.
WSU professor Nathan Moore said his physics students seem to be more attentive when they're out on the water.
"They say students remember about 10 percent of what you say," Moore said, "and it seems like that ratio would be higher (on the boat)."
"It gives us a chance to kind of get out of the classroom and really put what we're learning into real live situations," said business student Katie Marsolek, 19.
The 60-foot floating interpretive center is named after a former Winona State professor, Dr. Cal Fremling. He spent several decades studying the ecosystem of the upper Mississippi and sharing what he learned, before his death in 2010.
Fremling's wife, Arlayne, said the boat is a nice tribute to his passion for teaching.
"I'm sure he would be very proud of knowing what has been done for him, in remembrance of him," she said.
About two-thirds of the boat's cost came from private donations. The owner of the company that manufactured the boat, a Winona State grad, also provided a discount.
The university opens it up for other groups to lease as well, as long as they use it for an educational purpose.
"We would have a student or we would have a faculty member or one of our captains would be onboard to do some teaching," said WSU professor emeritus Jim Reynolds.
On Thursday nights through mid-September, the Cal Fremling is hosting history tours of the region, sponsored by the Winona County Historical Society.
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