Syracuse University students to exhibit scale model of proposed nature center for Thornden Park

Syracuse University students to exhibit scale model of proposed nature center for Thornden ParkApril 08, 2002Judy Holmesjlholmes@syr.edu

Communications design students in the School of Art and Design, College of Visual and Performing Arts will present the exhibit “Discover Thornden: Making Sense of Nature” in the Shaffer Art Building galleria at Syracuse University April 11 to 24. A reception for the exhibit will be held from 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. on April 17 in the galleria, located on the ground floor of the building.

The exhibit is a scale model of a proposed educational nature center for the newly renovated Thornden Park Carriage House, a project the students are working on with the Thornden Park Association. Members of the association plan to use documentation from the students’ scale model exhibit to support a grant request to make this project a reality.

The theme of “Discover Thornden: Making Sense of Nature” is the five senses. The exhibit includes five components, each representing one of the five senses. A sixth component presents an overview and the history of Thornden Park. The purpose of the proposed nature center is to increase public awareness of Thornden Park’s rich history and importance as a public green space in an urban area, while allowing visitors to experience the park in a new way.

Thornden is a 76-acre public park. Before the City of Syracuse purchased it, the park was a private estate. Only one of the estate’s original buildings, the Carriage House, now stands.