“It’s our job to foster a child’s curiosity of nature and science, and help them to understand the world around them.” – Stewart Gray
Stewart and Martha Gray have taken their two grandchildren across North Carolina exploring science museums. For them, an important part of being grandparents is to provide fun, educational experiences that will create lasting impacts and memories. No matter which museums they explore, they always come back to Grandfather Mountain. “The mountain changes daily,” says Stewart. “That is what is so wonderful about it.”
Martha grew up in the Raleigh area and was familiar with Grandfather Mountain, whereas Stewart is from Massachusetts and knew less about the North Carolina mountains. They met while Stewart was in graduate school at North Carolina State University and Martha was working in medical research at Research Triangle Park. They moved to Ithaca, N.Y., where Stewart accepted a U.S. Department of Agriculture research scientist position with a faculty appointment at Cornell University and Martha started a new career at Ithaca College in institutional research. Meanwhile, their son settled in Western North Carolina after graduating from Appalachian State University, as did their daughter. After visiting the area for over a decade, the Grays knew they wanted to retire here. They landed only a few miles from Grandfather Mountain.
While on a National Geographic trip to Alaska, Stewart learned about the role that naturalists play in parks to help educate visitors about the world they are exploring. After retiring, Stewart began volunteering as a naturalist at Grandfather, helping guests learn about its wonders by leading fall color rambles, teaching children to identify different animal skulls or talking about the different types of clouds seen above the Mile High Swinging Bridge.
Because of their love of the mountain and their explorations of science museums around the state, the Grays knew that they wanted to support the creation of Yonni’s Clubhouse: an immersive space for children to learn about conservation and the natural world around them.
Yonni’s Clubhouse will be an interactive education center designed for children ages 5 to 12, where they can play and learn at the same time through engaging hands-on activities. Inside the clubhouse, they might learn about bees and the role of pollinators, and then they can go outside to explore an actual pollinator garden.
“Connecting children with curiosity inspires learning, and touchpoints make it stick,” explained Martha. “We see it in our grandchildren and know they are making lasting memories.”