Photo credit: Emily B. and Erika M.
Additional support on this article provided by Erika M.
The Idea
Last year an anonymous donor gave our 6-8 science teacher, Mrs.Fischer, a generous donation of $30,000 worth of science equipment. So, it was a need for space that sparked the idea for a new science lab. It was actually Mrs. Van Hoose and Mrs. Emmett’s idea to convert their old classrooms into the new science lab.
The Process
The process was long and strenuous, taking almost a year to complete. They had to remove a wall as well as the old carpeting. There was a generous donation of custom-built cabinets for the science lab. The big day was August 7. They had a 53-foot tractor trailer arrive with all of the cabinets. This is when the work really began.
They had parents and parishioners show up to help. Mr. Garcia, Mitch Passini, Mrs. Van Hoose, Eugene Gyawu, Mike Murphy, Levi Gibfried, Travis Yoakum, and Kevin Marling all helped with the cabinets. They worked together to move 53 feet of cabinets downstairs to the science lab by hand. This was 200+ man hours in seven days including moving the cabinets downstairs. “We could never do what we do without our volunteers,” said Mr. Arnold. Mrs. Fischer worked from when the cabinets were installed all the way to the day before school started to get the science lab finished. She worked many long days, often working into the night.
Challenges Along the Way
The crew ran into some challenges along the way. The biggest problem was trying to level everything. None of the floors were level making it difficult to install the cabinets. They also had to redo all of the electrical and plumbing.
The Donation
In addition to the anonymous donation of $30,000 worth of science equipment, Cohen Woodworking in St. James, MO, jumped in and donated $100,000 worth of cabinets. Cohen Woodworking helped to design custom cabinets for the space. At press time, the lab is nearly complete, only lacking a couple cabinets as well as some additional electric and plumbing. They hope to add this as soon as possible in the next few months.
“It’s not important to me, it’s important to the school. That one day your kids will be here and you will remember that science lab. So that Mrs. Fischer can find a way for you to learn science without knowing you’re learning.” – Mr. Arnold
