Begin a Journey of Discovery Deep Beneath the Earth
Chesapeake Learning Center
Do you have questions about the natural gas drilling process? Do you ever wonder what the drilling rigs around town are doing? Would you like a front-row seat to activity on a natural gas wellsite? Look no further than the Chesapeake Learning Center, a working wellsite that puts you up close and personal with the natural gas production process. The Chesapeake Learning Center in Grapevine, Texas, is a fun and educational family activity that demystifies natural gas, from how wells are drilled to how natural gas benefits the economy.
You will learn more about a valuable energy source formed millions of years ago and now trapped more than a mile beneath the earth's surface. Also, learn how natural gas companies such as Chesapeake tap the natural gas from the Barnett Shale region of North Texas and make it available as a clean-burning fuel for America.
Nearly everyone in North Texas is touched in a positive way by the natural gas industry. Come discover more about natural gas — the clean, affordable, abundant, American energy resource right under your feet!
Open 24 hours a day to the public
3015 East Grapevine Mills Circle, Grapevine, Texas 76051 (across from Grapevine Mills Mall)
Admission is free.
Experience Other Energy-related Exhibits
4th Street Model Site
The 4th Street Model Site, constructed in 2006 as a full-sized demonstration of a typical urban wellsite, serves as an example of Chesapeake sites found in neighborhoods across the Barnett Shale. Designed for tours by neighborhood associations and city leadership, the site incorporates different types of perimeter fencing commonly used in North Texas and features a full-size wellhead and production equipment that remain on site after drilling and completion operations have concluded.
The different types of fencing — chain link, chain link with vinyl slats, wrought iron and masonry walls — are used depending on need and city ordinances. Chesapeake’s Best on the Block initiative ensures that urban production sites attractively blend in with a surrounding neighborhood. Inside the perimeter fencing, a wellhead joins meters, separators, tank batteries and other pieces of production equipment.
All equipment is full-scale and labeled with easy-to-understand, non-technical descriptions to teach school groups, homeowner associations and other visitors what each piece of equipment does. It also provides first responders and regulators with a valuable opportunity to tour a site with a Chesapeake specialist who can describe the equipment and preventive and safety measures.
The 4th Street Model Site is available to groups by appointment. If you are interested in scheduling a tour, call 817-502-5000![]( "Call: 817-502-5000")
and ask for a community relations representative.
Learn more about safety and security at Chesapeake wellsites.
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Replica
If you are interested in learning about the many other facets of energy production, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History has a fantastic Energy Blast exhibit geared for guests 11 and older.
The entire exhibition is packed with interactive learning stations, multimedia and dioramas. It’s a world that invites you to explore regional energy production and highlights the innovative pioneers who continue to make energy a leading industry in the region. Be sure to watch Journey to the Center of the Barnett Shale inside the Devon Energy Theater and stop by Chesapeake’s 3-D production model of natural gas drilling operations and equipment. Features include a representation of what’s going on above and below the ground during drilling, hydraulic fracturing, pipeline installation and natural gas delivery activities, making it easy to visualize the full-scale process.
Other attractions offered by the museum include Energy Blast, a seven-minute video about the energy production process; a real “thumper truck” seismic exploration vehicle; and a seismic visualization room patterned after the one at Chesapeake’s Oklahoma City headquarters.
Please visit the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History site for hours and admissions.
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