HILLSBOROUGH - HILLSBOROUGH -- When I first heard about the new Maple View Agriculture Center, I had visions of a large, tented green room lined with window boxes and Petri dishes.

But when I heard the center being touted under the agri-tourism category, I knew I had to drive over and check it out. Tourism, after all, is my livelihood.

The center is just east of Maple View Creamery, about 10 minutes from downtown Chapel Hill in an area where the Chapel Hill/Carrboro/Hillsborough jurisdiction lines all scramble together.

"What town am I in?" I asked chief operating officer Allison Nichols, a twenty-something UNC graduate, product of the Orange County school system and dedicated ag educator.

"Technically Hillsborough," she said, "but the driveway is Carrboro and across the street you can see the Chapel Hill town signs."

Allison greeted me with her mother, Susan Nichols, a retired educator from Grady Brown Elementary. Both were excited about the new center, which had a soft opening for educators earlier this month and opens formally May 1.

A former elementary school teacher, Allison taught in Durham and was saddened that many of her students couldn't trace the milk they drank at lunch back beyond the supermarket. Most weren't aware of the way food came to their homes or schools from the farm.

An idea began germinating. Allison teamed with relative Bob Nutter and started planning the education center in 2007, got the permit in 2008 and began building.

She said she planned the center to be a field trip destination for schools during the week and a getaway for families during weekends.

The 5,800 square foot center has both a classroom and outdoor components, but it's not just for school children. A large main room will be used for classes for adults and could serve as a meeting place for civic groups.

In line with the N.C. science curriculum, the center has four classrooms with different themes: plants, crops, and nutrition; soil science; animals; and insects, weather, lifecycles, compost, and more. A North Carolina garden includes peanuts, tobacco, cotton and sweet potatoes. Future educational stations will include a barnyard where visitors can milk a cow.

The Nicholses hope that by showing children how food is produced locally, they will forge a stronger connection between residents and local farmers.

"The connection to the land is one that fewer people can still make, and we hope to help reverse that trend through this new center," said Allison.

Laurie Paolicelli is the executive director of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau.

IF YOU GO

To visit the Maple View Agriculture Center call 942-6122. For more information, go to www.mapleviewfarm.com