Idaho Center for Outdoor Education sits on 87 acres owned by the Basin School District in Idaho City, where they bring students for a variety of learning activities in the fall, winter, and spring.

The vision of the ICOE is to encourage students to care about the environment by using a beautiful setting and several partners in a hands-on learning style. Junior Kennedy Smith has never missed an ICOE day during her time in the Basin School District.

“There are so many activities and things you learn from being in the mountains,” said Smith. “It’s awesome.”

On Thursday, the community had a ribbon-cutting ceremony to introduce a brand new yurt that will be used as a classroom at the Idaho Center for Outdoor Education. It will come in handy, especially during the winter.

This new 30-foot yurt was paid for through a $30,000 grant from the Idaho Women’s Charitable Foundation.

“We are just grateful because it would have never happened without that support,” said Jaime Pilkerton of the Basin School District. “Once we had the yurt, we had to figure out how we were going to get it up, do the ground prep, and the pad. It has been a community-wide effort.”

A number of donors came together to help raise funds for the project. Elite Builders and the Callahan family volunteered their time to build the foundation, and then they went to work constructing the yurt with the help of students in the district’s construction and trades class taught by Tom Standerwick.

“My class and I were drilling holes in the concrete, and after that we were putting up the walls,” said Smith. “The tarp was the hardest part because we had to have scaffolding inside and outside. Putting it up was hard work, but it paid off.”

The yurt will add to the educational experience in the Basin School District, but districts outside of Idaho City can also use the IOEC. The public can also access this area, which features a disc golf course, an ADA hiking trail, a zipline, and a 3D archery range.

“I can’t wait to see where future schools and our school goes with it,” said Smith. “I think it is awesome.”

The following is a news release from Idaho State Police.

SHOSHONE — Idaho State Police is investigating a single-vehicle fatality crash that occurred at 11:44 a.m. on Sunday on State Highway 24 at milepost 39.5, east of Shoshone.

A 61-year-old male from Jerome was traveling Westbound on SH24 at milepost 39.5 on a 2006 Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He exited the roadway to the right and went down a hill where he lost control and crashed.

The rider was pronounced deceased at the scene. He was wearing a helmet.

The roadway was blocked for approximately two and a half hours to allow emergency personnel to render aid and clear the scene.

This crash remains under investigation by Idaho State Police.

IDAHO FALLS — Mummies have returned to the Museum of Idaho as hundreds of community members gathered on opening day to learn more about those who came before and how they were preserved.

The Mummies of the World exhibit will run until Jan. 6, providing community members with ample time to view the mummies and learn about their history. The Museum of Idaho is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Camille Thomas, director of marketing for the museum, told EastIdahoNews.com the exhibit features one of the largest collections of human and animal mummies, along with related artifacts. The mummies come from Europe, ancient Egypt, South America and here in the United States.

One of the most unique parts of the exhibit is Mumab, a project conducted in the 1990s by the University of Maryland, using a cadaver donated to science to create a mummy, Thomas said.

“His body is wrapped and is on display at the exhibit. There are canopic jars that contain his organs, and the original tools that they use to do that practice are also on display,” Thomas said.

Museum Executive Director Jeff Carr said they’ve been looking forward to this exhibit for a long time and that it’s a big deal.

He said the mission of the Museum of Idaho is to ensure Idahoans in eastern Idaho have access to these exhibits and education about cultures from around the world.

“It’s just one of those sorts of things that you don’t normally get in a city of our size,” Carr said. “This is just a testament to what makes Idaho Falls and east Idaho such a wonderful place to live.”

Looking at the exhibits, Thomas said one of the interesting interactive exhibits is a wall that demonstrates what it feels like to touch a mummy.

Carr said one of the intriguing exhibits for him is the mummy bundles from the Inca Empire, dating back to the 15th century.

He said these mummies were buried in the fetal position and placed into baskets that allowed family members to bring their passed loved ones with them.

“It’s a really interesting look into how different cultures look at life and death… in some ways very different from ours. There’s a lot that is also relatable to,” Carr said.

A community member visiting the exhibit, Laron Johnson, told EastIdahoNews.com that it’s interesting how real people, like those depicted in these mummies, can become souvenirs.

“Yet we see the ones that were painstakingly preserved in love and memory,” Johnson said.

Still teaching at Rigby High School and a former history teacher, Johnson said he’s always been a supporter of the museum and was there to scout for other history teachers.

He said what was interesting to him was the salt mummy of a blowfish, which sparked his interest in learning more about the use of salt in mummification.

“This is an excellent tool for education,” Johnson said. “Who doesn’t want to see a mummy.”

For more information or to purchase tickets for Mummies of the World exhibit, visit museumofidaho.org/mummies.