Skip to content

Explore PK-8 School

Explore PK-8 was built on the historic Carlson Family Ranch in Thornton. This new school is a replacement school with an expeditionary learning curriculum. Students enter the 59,800 SF single-story school under the front porch. The entry immediately leads into the two-story open volume of the Learning and Dining Commons that is focused around a central hearth and fireplace. The classrooms are organized in pairs of grade levels around a common space. The 3-8 classroom wing consists of a series of four classroom houses. Each house has its own amenity spaces, which includes a group break-out space and restrooms. Each of the breakout spaces has access to an exterior classroom space to enhance expeditionary learning, which is separated from the exterior play by a creek bed with pedestrian bridges.

Details

Location

Thornton, CO

Size

59,800 SF

Owner

Mapleton Public Schools

Market

Education

architect

Hord Coplan Macht

“Constructing a new school facility for Explore PK-8 was a special project from the beginning. The project had to honor the site (a former dairy farm owned and operated by a legacy Adams County family) and it had to support 21st century expeditionary learning. The JHL team understood the importance of this project to the community and endeavored to give it commensurate levels of effort and attention.  JHL held themselves to high expectations as builders, general contractors, and partners. The design-build process was transparent and included clear, timely communication; no detail was overlooked and no request unanswered. The school facility was finished ahead of schedule and on budget – but more importantly, it will facilitate high levels of learning for generations of Mapleton students.”

Mike Crawford
Senior Deputy Superintendent for Mapleton Public Schools

Suggested Projects