The $21 million Rancho Soñado project will restore a longtime home for outdoor science learning
The Orange County Department of Education broke ground October 6 on a new education center at Rancho Soñado, nearly six years after the Bond Fire devastated the property.
The $21 million project will return the Inside the Outdoors program to its longtime home in the Santa Ana Mountains. Construction is expected to continue through December 2027.
Plans include classroom and administrative space, a multipurpose science building, outdoor teaching pavilions and a 133-seat amphitheater.
The design incorporates noncombustible building materials, sprinklers, a new fire hydrant and improved access for buses and emergency vehicles.
The December 2020 fire destroyed two of the property’s three structures. Inside the Outdoors continued serving students through classroom visits and other field locations.
C.W. Driver is the construction partner, and tBP/Architecture designed the center.
The groundbreaking begins construction; the site has not reopened for school visits.
Sources
Orange County Department of Education — October 6, 2026
Illustrative construction photograph; not Rancho Soñado. Photo by Troy Mortier on Unsplash.
