[2] The historic district is part of a campus that provides science classes and research opportunities for university students.

Their plan was to provide to all students "'competent to enjoy the laboratory method of instruction'; to instruct teachers in both academies of higher learning and in high schools so that they were better prepared to educate children in schools; and to provide a laboratory where graduate students and scholars could pursue advanced research.

"[2] The facility is the "earliest and one of the most important research and educational institutions associated with the conservation movement.

"[2] The first 5 acres (2.0 ha) on West Okoboji Lake was purchased by the University of Iowa Alumni Association who set up a private stock company, the Lakeside Laboratory Association, because the university itself was legally prevented from establishing "branch" campuses.

It is a combination of meadows, marshes, and bogs that have been used in experiments and research projects over the years, and it is considered integral to the historic field laboratory setting.