Finalizing the Exhibit at Thorne

We are putting together the final pieces of our wind project at Thorne Ecological Institute! The exhibit, wind turbine, and curriculum will educate kids about wind energy in memory of Rudd Mayer, an award-winning wind energy pioneer who passed away in 2002. We can't think of a better place to teach renewable energy than Thorne's Natural Science School, which reaches thousands of children each year.

This exhibit is made possible by the many donors to the Rudd Fund. We still can't believe we initially raised $100,000 in our mom's memory, in lieu of flowers!

This project is the work of many people, including Rudd's daughters -- Alix Mayer and Brooke Mayer Larson. We are working closely with Kelly Keena, the Acting Executive Director of Thorne Ecological and Jessica Feld, the former Executive Director of Thorne Ecological Institute to bring the wind project to fruition at Thorne's Sombrero Marsh education center. The new wind curriculum will reach thousands of school-aged children through the engaging and creative teaching of Kelly Keena and other educators.

We consult and work with many others to make this project happen, including exhibit designer Darin Wacs, graphic designer, Jina Choi, wind turbine expert Tim Olsen, Susan Innis and Anita Schwartz of Western Resource Advocates, Xcel Energy, the Boulder Valley School District, NREL, University of Colorado, and countless others who have given us their time, advice, and support.

In the past year, Thorne has raised another $50,000 for the project. With Alix and Brooke's service grant time totaling another $100,000, we created a total of $250,000 for this and other Rudd Fund projects!

It's been almost 5 years since Rudd passed away and we are excited to be opening the wind exhibit with a big celebration at Thorne on September 8th, a day that would have been Rudd's 64th birthday. Please join us there if you can.