Tero International Inc.'s Learning Center is located with quick and easy access to the interstates in Des Moines, Iowa. The convenient location and large sign on the building provide good visibility for guests trying to locate the Center. With numerous restaurants, hotels and amenities nearby, Tero clients enjoy an exciting new option for training venue.

And, the price is right. There is no charge for space rental when the event you are hosting is a Tero training program. Reasonable room and AV rental rates with catering options are available for groups seeking a meeting-friendly environment.

Designed exclusively for the unique learning needs of participants in training classes, Tero's Learning Center has many features training professionals dream about but are not able to incorporate into traditional meeting rooms that must serve a wide range of business needs.

This large room, which serves as a welcome room, breakout area and refreshment center, adjoins a storage room housing a supply of large round tables and an abundance of additional seating.

The room is equipped with state-of-the-art audio visual equipment and has been designed to quickly convert into a flexible and comfortable training room for workshops of 20-60 participants.

The catering kitchen allows groups of up to 60 participants to take advantage of Tero's famous dining tutorial on-site. Like all Tero programs, the training is highly experiential. Participants learn the finer points of dining, etiquette, networking and executive presence while enjoying a formal four to seven course private, plated meal service.

Tero clients already know that intensive curriculum and small facilitator to participant ratio are trademark features of many Tero classes. The IMPACT training room (named for Tero's popular IMPACT® How To Speak Your Way To Success presentation skills workshop) has been exclusively designed as a learning environment for small group training.

Furniture selected moves freely so that the environment can be quickly adapted to meet the unique objectives of the workshop. The room set-up is driven largely by the visual needs of the learners. For this reason, teambuilding classes are set-up for maximum eye contact among team members. Other classes that tend to be more leader-led, such as presentation skills training, make use of a chevron style set-up (shown here) which allows for the greatest eye contact with the front of the room and provides an aisle for ease of videotaping.

20 percent of learners are positively or negatively affected by choice of seating. The IMPACT room features swivel chairs with breathable fabric and three adjustments for maximum comfort. The welcome room, library, and conference room offer a wide variety of seating options. Casual butterfly chairs are available for participants who wish to hold breakout sessions outdoors or relax in the nature surrounding the Learning Center.

Colors chosen are warm shades of nature's colors. Several feature walls are painted in Tero teal. Art, fabrics and other items add color interest. Color has been shown to provide a 55-78 percent increase in learning, retention and recall and a 73 percent improvement in comprehension. Soft shades of blue and green appease the central nervous system; bright hues can accelerate the central nervous system; yellow is the most fatiguing because it results in excessive eye stimulation; pink, a tranquilizing color, zaps energy.

All training rooms and many offices enjoy an entire wall of natural light in an effort to bring more of nature's great learning lumens into the environment. The length and brightness of daylight affects our body's melatonin and hormone levels and influences the release of neurotransmitters. This affects alertness, responsiveness and moods which in turn affects learning.

Participants have a variety of locations to select for breakout sessions or small group activities. Tero's conference room, research library, welcome room and outdoor spaces are among the inviting options.

Training rooms have been designed to allow for easy access in and out of the learning environment from the back of the room so that late-comers or those who must excuse themselves cause minimal disruption for the other learners.

In choosing which training room to use, consideration is given to the personal space needs of the learners. Rather than being crammed into a training room, great efforts are made to ensure that learners are provided with adequate think and interaction space during their Tero workshop experience. Extra consideration is given when Tero hosts a training workshop for international visitors who have different personal space expectations and requirements. Learners have personal space requirements that vary by culture. In a western culture, personal space is 18 inches. Europeans, especially in the UK, prefer 24 inches. Latin American and Asian cultures personal space can be as minimal as 6 inches.

Ceiling-mounted, late-model AV and sound technology are features of each training room. A unique and rare feature of the Tero Learning Center are the projection screens that have been purposefully situated at an angle in a corner of each room. This ensures that PowerPoint presentations are relegated to a supporting role rather than serving as the main learning methodology by themselves. Effective visual aids increase learning by 200 percent, improve retention by 38 percent and reduce the time to explain complex subjects by 25 to 40 percent.

Healthy, live plants are a feature of the Center. Scientists at NASA found plants make for a better learning and thinking environment for astronauts. Certain plants remove pollutants from the air, increase the negative ionization and charge it with oxygen. According to the Federal Clean Air Council, plants raise oxygen levels and increase productivity by 10 percent. A single plant can often affect 100 square feet of space. Among some of the best plants for enhanced learning are: philodendrons, peace lilies, and bamboo palms.

Participants arrive to music selected to enhance the learning environment. White noise and nature sounds are also used. Music is a powerful signal carrier. It activates emotions and long term memory and fully engages the brain's most receptive states. Benefits of music in learning include: relaxation, stress reduction, creativity through brain wave activation, stimulated imagination and thinking, motor skills, speaking and vocabulary, and reduced disciplinary problems.

To ensure nearby interstate noise is not distracting, training rooms were intentionally located on the opposite side of the building with a view of the heavily treed grounds. To minimize noises inherent in any business environment, internal walls to the training rooms are equipped with sound barriers.

While an aerobic workout is not practical, Tero addresses this need by offering participants the opportunity to take both a physical and mental break with a spirited game of ping pong. The distraction allows participants to mentally and physically disengage from the training allowing time for the new neuron connections in the brain to be made more permanent. Physical exercise creates an adrenal response critical to coping with challenges, improving mental functioning and increasing oxygen flow to the brain, which helps you think better.

A diffuser and wide selection of essential oils that contribute to encouraging a variety of learning states are on hand for facilitators to use to enhance the learning environment. Olfaction (the neuroscience of smell) drives the human basics such as anxiety, fear, hunger, depression and sexuality. Smell is known to affect vital brain functions, learning, memory and emotional states. Certain floral odors increase the ability to learn, create and think. Studies show that problem solving increases by up to 30% when learners are exposed to a flowery scent. Other aromas that trigger optimal learning states include peppermint, lemon and cinnamon.

Frequent breaks are a standard Tero practice. Ten minute breaks are provided approximately every hour during the workshops. Brain researchers have found that the brain operates on 90-110 minute cycles of attention. Trying to gain someone's attention at the bottom of this cycle is not only difficult, it may be counterproductive. Researchers have found that taking breaks several times a day actually increases productivity. Breaks also allow time for assimilation and processing of learning.

Participants in Tero workshops facilitated in the Learning Center can enjoy healthy learning-friendly meals and refreshments. In addition to the usual training fare of coffee, tea, sodas, and rolls, Tero provides a selection of healthy snacks and water throughout training sessions to enhance learning and retention. Carbohydrates (breads, cereals, pastas) may impair learning by slowing down the brain. Sugar is not good or bad, it is both. It's all a matter of what is eaten with the sugar. When eaten with a carbohydrate (donuts or danish), it impairs learning. When eaten with a protein (trail mix, yogurt, granola), learning is benefited.

Critical to learning is the presence of some stress. While the learning environment at Tero is created for comfort and optimum learning, the curriculum is designed to address the need for stress in learning. Tero invests hundreds of hours in the research, design and development of its programs in pursuit of achieving the delicate balance of simulating the stresses found in the real world, while also providing a safe and enriching learning environment in which participants can experiment with the new skills they will be required to use in the real world.

I am interested in reserving the Tero Learning Center for my meeting. Please check availability on the following options for me:

Credit Card Payments
Tero® now accepts MasterCard and Visa as an alternative to our standard invoicing procedures. To charge your room rental registration to your credit card, simply contact Jennifer Chittenden at 515-221-2318 (ext. 203).

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Learning Center Room(s) Requested - check all that apply
IMPACT Meeting Room - full day rental ($150)
IMPACT Meeting Room - half day rental ($100)
Large Meeting Room - full day rental ($275)
Large Meeting Room - half day rental ($150)
Extended Hours Rental - before 8:00 a.m. and after 5:00 p.m. ($25 per hour)

Date(s) Requested:

Meeting Time(s) Requested:

What audio/visual needs do you have? - check all that apply
LCD Projector and Screen ($25 per day)
Easel ($10 per day)
Easel with flip chart paper and markers ($15 per day)

What refreshment/meal needs do you have? - check all that apply
Breakfast ($5.00 per person per day)
Lunch (Tero is pleased to assist with caterering options)
Refreshments/Breaks ($2.50 per person per day)

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Billing Address:

Special requests, comments and questions:

For questions or to discuss options, contact: