Duluth, Minnesota four Catholic schools with coverage up to grades 6 or 8, two Protestant schools, two Montessori schools, and six other charter and private schools. Due to its proximity to the Great Lakes, Duluth is the location for the Large Lakes Observatory. The Large Lakes Observatory operates the largest university-owned research vessel in the Great Lakes, the R/V Blue Heron. Built in 1985 for fishing on the Grand Banks, the Blue Heron was purchased by the University of Minnesota in 1997, sailed from Portland, Maine, up the St. Lawrence Seaway to Duluth, and converted into a limnological research vessel during the
Lake Superior Stele Arts Board. The program funds the acquisition of art to be displayed in state buildings that are accessible to the public. Lake Superior Stele Lake Superior Stele is a relief sculpture created by Wenzhi Zhang, a notable Chinese artist and educator. Consisting of 120 individual stoneware tiles attached to a steel framework, Lake Superior Stele spans two stories of the Academic and Student Services Building on the campus of Lake Superior College in Duluth, Minnesota. The piece was officially unveiled in March 2008. The mural combines representations of the region's iconic architecture, culture, industrial heritage and landscapes into an intricately