Governor's School

Valleybrook Experimental Campus

Valleybrook Experimental Laboratories provides students with the opportunity to engage in hands-on, problem-based learning within a real-world research setting. Operated by East Tennessee State University, the site serves as a multidisciplinary field and laboratory environment where students explore environmental, scientific, and public health concepts through active participation.

As part of the Governor’s School experience, students take part in project-based activities that emphasize practical skills and applied knowledge. These may include constructing simple agricultural systems, experimenting with water filtration and resource management, and working through challenges that simulate real-world environmental and public health conditions. Many of these projects are designed around low-resource scenarios, encouraging creativity, adaptability, and problem-solving.

The site is also home to initiatives such as Project EARTH, which focuses on experiential learning in resource-limited environments. Students work collaboratively to design solutions, test ideas, and reflect on how environmental conditions, infrastructure, and access to resources shape human health and sustainability.

Through these experiences, Valleybrook moves beyond traditional classroom instruction. It allows students to engage directly with the process of experimentation—building, testing, and refining ideas—while developing a deeper understanding of how environmental and social systems interact.

As part of the Governor’s School program, Valleybrook Experimental Laboratories reinforces key themes of innovation, sustainability, and applied learning. It provides a setting where students not only study complex systems, but actively work within them, gaining insight into how knowledge is used to address real-world challenges.