Kentucky State University, the historically Black educational institution in Frankfort, recently launched its Kentucky River Thorobred, an aquatic vessel that will serve as a floating science laboratory. Undergraduate and graduate students will use the vessel for research and the boat will also be used to teach local schoolchildren about the river’s history and ecology.
The boat will be docked at a riverfront area adjacent to the old federal building which now serves as the university’s downtown annex. The university is building a Kentucky River Interpretive Center at the site that will include interactive educational tools.
The entire project is being financed by a grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.