The Outdoor Adventure Department of Texas A&M at Commerce owns and opeates an Outdoor Adventire park on Hunt County Road 4400 west of Commerce, near the High school.
From the website: (
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"Outdoor Adventure
Program Overview
The Outdoor Adventure program (OA) seeks to provide superior adventure and educational opportunities promoting active lifestyles, appreciation for the natural environment, and personal development. We seek to Inspire people through outdoor experiences, encourage groups to Discover new things, and challenge individuals to Grow.
Challenge Course
Outdoor Adventure’s Challenge Course offers adventure based learning opportunities to enhance leadership, decision-making, and communication skills through an interactive process for groups to develop as a team. This hands-on approach is designed to help individuals learn from their interaction with others and then apply those principles to their life situations.
For more information about our Challenge Course please visit our Website.
Climbing Facility
The climbing facility is the most visible part of the Outdoor Adventure Program. The Climbing Wall, soaring at 45 feet tall, offers a variety of climbing opportunities for the novice as well as the experienced climber. We also have a new bouldering wall that gives more variety to both beginning and advanced climbers.
We have quality climbing gear, brand new harnesses, a clear view of the outdoors, and a well-trained and enthusiastic staff that can’t wait to see you; come climb with us TODAY!
For information regarding reservations please visit the website listed under the Challenge Course tab.
Please fill out our Waiver Release Form
A parent or guardian must sign your waiver if you are under 18.
We now have a full 18 hole disc golf course located at our Outdoor Adventure Center. Come check it out!"
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Every incoming 6th grader to the Commerce Middle School goes through this ropes course to build some teamwork, make new friends and build some self-esteem before getting creamed by the realities of life in 6th grade and middle school.
The course was built by Texas A&M at Commerce, but is a community asset shared (for a fee) with the middle- and high-school students of the Commerce Independent School District.
For more on this ropes course, see here: (
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"Learning the ropes for a successful middle school experience
Losing any confidence they might have had as fifth graders, students entering middle school may find themselves lost and looking for a place where they fit in. Patrick Just, Commerce Middle School principal, and Roger Greer, assistant director of Outdoor Adventure at Texas A&M University-Commerce, discussed this problem and determined that they could collaborate to provide an opportunity for students to step out of their comfort zones and face new challenges as a team.
The result has been the Sixth Grade Challenge Course where all sixth graders, with parental permission, are lead in small groups through team-building activities and challenges to develop leadership, decision making and communication skills, according to Greer.
“It helps reinforce the Commerce Middle School Honor Code with the 4 R’s: Respectful, Responsible, Reasonable, Ready,” Greer said.
Principal Just explains it like this: “Kids coming into CMS have a hard time knowing who they are and where they fit in. The Challenge Course helps them face their personal fears and work with people outside of their normal circle of friends. We believe the experience will have a lasting impact on the students.”
Just and Greer were brought together by a suggestion from Dixie Stachowiak, a local business owner and Commerce Leadership Institute director, who thought that a ropes challenge for teens would be an excellent way to enhance their leadership skills. It would mirror the opportunity provided to each Commerce Leadership Institute class, which is sponsored by the Commerce Chamber of Commerce.
Thanks to the Commerce Schools Educational Enrichment Foundation, funding for next year’s sixth grade ropes challenges has been secured."