Rockford Fossil & Prairie Park Nature Center

Rockford Fossil & Prairie Park Nature Center
Rockford, Iowa
Completed: 1998

This Visitor’s Center marks the edge between plains of native prairie grassland and the river valley one hundred feet below down a steep slope.  The Center provides easy access to the fossil rich quarries of a nearby abandoned clay mine.

The Center was designed to serve as the offices for the Floyd County Conservation Board and also to provide space for exhibits, labs, and classes.
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​Heating and cooling are achieved through geothermal earth loops.  The lower level floor slab uses heat from the geo-thermal loops in an in-floor radiant heat system.