Photo Credit: Courtesy of Isabella County SWAT Team
Over the past 10 years at Central Michigan University, the 10,000-square-foot Adventure Center in the Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Administration Department has seen a popularity boom and healthy revenue stream, particularly related to the rock-climbing gym. However, the center also has experienced the ever-so-common “yo-yo” effect as the public’s interest in paying to climb the wall shifts. A handful of “regulars” keeps the doors open, but how to keep people coming back? The answer to this question was addressed, adding elements that changed the common rock gym into an impressive experiential learning center.
First-Year Experience
In a class known as the First-Year Experience (FYE), students are exposed to the rock-climbing wall in the following ways:
1. Instructors may take an entire class to experience a set of “team-building” and “problem-solving” activities.