For generations of Ohio University students and townspeople who have enjoyed the outdoor attractions of OU’s Ridges property, they should be in for a surprise the next time they walk there. As part of the university’s OHIO Museum Complex (OMC), much of the Ridges’ undeveloped area has been dubbed an Outdoor Museum.
Hikers on The Ridges – the 750-acre piece of land that formerly served as the grounds of the old Athens Mental Health Center/Asylum – will now see a series of well-made signs. They feature maps, distance information, and/or historical/scientific information. They’re intended to “highlight Outdoor Museum points of interest,” according to an OU news release.
The Ridges is located on the hills overlooking the Hocking River just south across the river from the Convocation Center, West Green and OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital. It was a mecca for students and Athens residents long before the Ridges campus and lands were transferred from the Ohio Department of Mental Health to OU in the late ’80s.
The new signage resulted from a collaboration between students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. For example, according to the release, three recent OU graduates made signs that relate to their study areas. They highlight aspects of outdoor education, nature and history.
The OHIO Museum Complex is an addition to the existing Kennedy Museum and research space in Lin Hall, the former main administration building of the old Athens Asylum.
According to the release, “The OMC is a campus and community collaboration that connects art, science, wellness and the environment with everyday life. It serves as a transformative space for members of all OHIO campuses to engage with the research and vision of students and faculty, providing an outside area to experiment, collaborate and excel in a creative community, focused on innovation.”
Different Components of the New OMC
Outside of Lin Hall, the OHIO Museum Complex features a parklike setting with sculptures, tall trees, a “pollinator garden,” and educational signage with information about plants and wildlife of the region.
On the extensive network of trails and lanes that wind through the Ridges’ pastures, forests, hills and creek beds, hikers now will find a series of attractive and durable signs. Some are strictly maps showing distances from that spot to other spots along the trails, while others showcase historical or natural features. For instance, the sign atop Radar Hill, probably the most-visited Ridges physical feature, explains the history behind the hill’s name and purpose. A sign near the university’s composting facility off of Dairy Lane explains its background and use.
In the news release, Joseph Shields, vice president for research at OU, explained, “The Outdoor Museum provides a connection between the beautiful setting of southeast Ohio and the questions that investigators at Ohio University pursue every day in their research.”
And Away From The Ridges…
The OMC project isn’t limited to The Ridges. On the other side of the Hocking River along the bike path, signage traces the university’s longstanding collaboration with Japan’s Chubu University. The partnership is reflected in a majestic line of Sapura cherry trees along the river that bloom in spring splendor every year.
Near Peden Stadium and a larger grove of cherry trees, additional new signage along the bike path highlights student research on the history of the Hocking River, as well as its ecology.
Use New App to Take a Self-Guided Tour
As part of the OMC project, a self-guided tour app (mAppAthens) has been developed. It boasts more than 20 online maps that can be used as part of actual physical tours of the outdoor museum, with a dizzying assortment of topics, from art to geology to history and more. Online tours also can be taken.