The smell of a new building will be in the air on the first day of school Tuesday, when students at Sewickley Academy walk down the halls of the newly-renovated Oliver Science Building.
It's not a new building, but there isn't much the students will recognize from their old science classrooms, labs and hallways after a $3.5 million modernization.
The Oliver Science Building was built in 1986, thanks to donations from the Oliver family, according to Kolia O'Connor, head of the school.
'After nearly 30 years, we knew we needed to update. We started this process about 18 months ago when we asked our faculty what they needed to best promote the love and appreciation for science,' he said last Thursday during a tour.
Tracy Wazenegger, a chemistry teacher and the chair of the science department, and Ron Kinser, a biology teacher, were among staffers who came up with a wish list and researched other signature science facilities.
Throughout the process, they worked closely with Jonathan Glance from Lami Grubb Architects of Pittsburgh. Mr. Glance, a 1993 academy graduate who serves on their board, is a perfect match for the project, Mr. O'Connor said.
'Jonathan knows the school, knows our community and knows what we are trying to achieve,' he said.
Although Mr. Glance admitted that science wasn't his strong suit, he was enthusiastic about the project.
'I barely passed chemistry in this room, and when I first came in to look at the project, nothing had changed in 20 years,' Mr. Glance said.
The new Science Building houses a large robotics lab for all students, 1,100 square feet of lab space and individual science project rooms called 'flex rooms' for students and faculty to conduct independent, ongoing research and experiments. It also boasts new equipment, including Epson short-arm projectors, SPARK Science Learning Systems and SMART Boards.
The building was completely gutted and the new rooms were constructed inside.
'It would have been much easier to tear down the building and start over, but we embraced the challenge,' Mr. Glance said.
A real benefit of the new classrooms is that the traditional classroom setting for lectures are joined with the laboratories.
That is one aspect of the new facility that Ms. Wazenegger was looking forward to during the upcoming school year.
'When the students finish in the classroom, they can move to the lab to do their work there. Science should be seamless, and this space allows that seamless learning,' she said.
Her colleague, Mr. Kinser, was looking forward to working with the students interested in the flex rooms, areas for independent research for students during their free time.
'We believe students should take their education into their own hands. The independent research rooms will allow them to conduct their own research and projects with our guidance,' he said.
The biggest challenge of the project was the new entryway and updating the front of the building, according to Tim Hastings, director of buildings and grounds. The entryway was reconfigured to provide accessibility and to match the architecture of the lower campus.
The area is the campus is located on is known as 'Sand Hill' due to the composition of the soil, so builders had to dig particularly deep to build the new ramp, he said.
The history of the campus with the various buildings that have been located on that area provided another challenge. There was no accurate description of where all the utilities were buried.
'We had to dig everything by hand, so a project that should have taken a week took about three and a half weeks,' he explained.
Kathleen Ganster, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
Entities 0 Name: Glance Count: 4 1 Name: Oliver Count: 1 2 Name: Epson Count: 1 3 Name: Tracy Wazenegger Count: 1 4 Name: Sewickley Academy Count: 1 5 Name: O'Connor Count: 1 6 Name: Wazenegger Count: 1 7 Name: Jonathan Glance Count: 1 8 Name: Oliver Science Building Count: 1 9 Name: Ron Kinser Count: 1 10 Name: Kinser Count: 1 11 Name: Tim Hastings Count: 1 12 Name: Jonathan Count: 1 13 Name: Kolia O'Connor Count: 1 14 Name: Kathleen Ganster Count: 1 15 Name: Lami Grubb Architects of Pittsburgh Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1nyt9LW Title: Informal Learning: From STEM Clubs to Careers in Science Description: I have always had a special enthusiasm for learning. I remember waking up extra early for school in third grade so that I would not miss a word of our morning homework review. It wasn't until seventh grade that I gained a certain zeal for the sciences.
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