Youth Challenge Course Benefits

Our Youth Challenge Course programs utilize experiential learning principals emphasizing:

• Life Skill Development
• Personal Growth
• Self-Esteem
• Trust
• Problem Solving
• Self-Discovery
• Responsibility

As students work together through a physically, mentally and emotionally challenging ropes course, leadership skills and teamwork are the main focus. Observation, discussion, organization, debriefing and physical activity play a central role in every exercise.

To learn more about the benefits of youth participation in Youth Challenge Course programs, watch our video and read on:

Program Outcomes

Academic research shows that a youth challenge course experience positively impacts a student’s self-efficacy, self-concept and classroom performance. Below are two links which direct you to two independent studies examining the outcomes of Youth Challenge Course participation:

• Rationale for Adventure-Based Learning

Author: Black Oak Mine Unified School District — Safe Schools/Healthy Students

Ropes and Rafting is a program developed by Mother Lode River Center. Over a six year period, in six different groups of 200 students, Ropes and Rafting was proven successful in promoting healthy outcomes for students at Golden Sierra High School in Garden Valley, California. To learn more about this program, check out our blog on adventure-based learning and click here.

• Are Challenge (Ropes) Courses an Effective Tool? A Meta-Analysis

Authors: H. Lee Gillis and Elizabeth Speelman, Journal of Experiential Education

This article takes a look at 44 independent studies which examine the outcomes of Challenge Course participation. The conclusion? “Challenge courses are an effective tool for impacting a variety of educational and psychological constructs with a variety of participants.”

Participating Organizations

Mother Lode River Center regularly works with schools, nonprofits, churches, scout groups and sports teams to deliver the right combination of fun, learning and development. This list names just a few of the organizations who experienced the Mother Lode River Center Challenge Ropes Course:

• Julia Morgan School for Girls
• Algebra Success Academy
• Blanche Sprentz Elementary
• Institutio Familiar de La Raza
• Saint Joseph Parish School
• Charter Community School
• Indian Creek School
• Charles Armstrong School
• Tribal Economic & Social Solutions Agency
• Calaveras High School
• Christian Brothers High School
• Pacific Rim International School
• California Montessori Project
• Shalom Day School
• Saint Mary’s College
• Berkeley Maynard Academy
• Novato Charter School
• Cascade Canyon School
• Boy Scouts of America
• Golden Sierra High School
• Hunters Point Family
• Native TANF Program
• Girls Scouts of the USA
• Oakmont High School