Staff photo by Fritz Busch The Riverside Park Environmental Learning Center in the former Franklin School building, 101 S. Front St. The museum with hands-on displays is open 1-4 p.m. Thursdays in May and 1-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 24-25.

NEW ULM — In 1853, the West Newton, a Minnesota River steamboat, passed by what is now Riverside Park, transporting troops to lay out the site of Fort Ridgely.

Two days later, two ships followed with men and supplies. For the next 20 years, boats brought settlers, freight, Indian supplies and gold to the area. A boat landing near this site was very important to New Ulm’s settlement in 1855, according to a Brown County Historical Society marker near the Riverside Park playground, 101 S. Front St.

A scenic 12.8-acre recreational area along the Minnesota River, Riverside Park is ideal to hiking, fishing and bird watching. It is easily accessible by car and foot, features walking and biking trails, picnic areas with tables and grills, a children’s playground with a pirate ship theme, a canoe landing and river views.

A ProMusica In Motion sign features a QR code that links music for park strolling.

Housed in the former Franklin School building, the Riverside Park Environmental Learning Center is a museum with hands-on displays, with an emphasis on exposing young people to nearby natural history.

Open seasonally or by appointment, the history center documents and compiles regional history with photographs, newspaper articles, slide presentations on event weekends and sponsors environmental educational programs, field trips and clean-up outings.

Riverside Park Environmental Learning Center Curator Ron Bolduan received the 2019 Roger J. Wolfe Achievement Award from the Minnesota Valley Action Council. The award goes to an individual who symbolizes the ideals that Wolfe represented including contributing time and energy towards improving the lives of others.

A nature photographer, Bolduan has introduced many adults and children to the wonders of area nature with presentations at the learning center and at school programs. Many of his wildlife photos were taken in the Minnesota and Cottonwood River Valleys, often featuring animal tracks, shells and fossils.

Bolduan organized a youth program called River Rangers which recognizes and awards youth who participate in field environmental learning and cleanup.

For more information, visit https://www.newulm.gov/Facilities/Facilty/Details/Riverside-Park-22.