Colorado State University Spur’s Hydro building opened its doors to the public Jan. 6, wrapping up the development of the Spur campus.

The CSU Spur campus is a non-degree granting campus that focuses on K-12 educational experiences to get younger people interested in learning and higher education in general.

The campus hosts three buildings — Vida, Terra and Hydro — that each have a respective focus on health, agriculture and water with several exhibits for guests to interact with.

“Our primary goal is to get kids really excited about careers in these fields and to let them know that there is an affordable way for them to go to college because we need all of that untapped human potential to help solve these great global challenges.” -Tony Frank, CSU System Chancellor

Vida hosts several veterinary services and exhibits live cat and dog surgeries; Terra focuses on agricultural science, culinary arts and food sustainability and Hydro focuses on water management and hosts Denver Water’s new water quality lab.

“When it comes to water management, it can be a zero-sum game,” said Jim Lochhead, CEO of Denver Water, at the Hydro building opening ceremony. “CSU Spur provides the nexus needed for all these interests to come together in developing collaborative solutions to the state and the West’s water challenges. It’s a win for all of us. We’re excited to be part of this partnership.”

The campus was made in collaboration with several organizations, most prominently the National Western Center, which the Spur campus resides in. The National Western Center is an agricultural hub that hosts several events, including the National Western Stock Show.

When the Western Stock Show Association was in the process of creating the National Western Center, they approached CSU asking if they would like to put up a facility with the center.

Tony Frank, the CSU System chancellor, said CSU was already looking to expand its brand to Denver, and this could be an opportunity to reach K-12 students who may feel they don’t have the resources to go to college.

“(At the time,) we had started to think we’ve got to find some way to get the message into the households where parents haven’t been to college that there’s an affordable pathway to college,” Frank said. “We wanted (K-12 students) to come in and see these wow-factor exhibits that were designed by professional K-12 educators that fit with their curriculum and were age appropriate. We wanted them to go home really excited, but we also want them to go home inoculated with the message for their teachers, for their guidance counselors, for their parents, that there is an affordable pathway to college for everybody.”

“Our primary goal is to get kids really excited about careers in these fields and to let them know that there is an affordable way for them to go to college because we need all of that untapped human potential to help solve these great global challenges,” Frank said.

The CSU Spur campus will be open during the National Western Stock Show Jan. 7-22.