Creating An Effective Science Learning Environment
By: Gordon Strohminger and John Flockenzier
Successful science lab projects require input from several people. There are so many considera-tions when it comes to planning a science lab, and input shouldn’t be narrowed down to just a few people or a certain department.
Communication is the key aspect of tying the internal and external design teams together. Your external design teams can be made up of architects, science lab (interior) designers, general con-tractors, members of the business community and parents. Your internal design teams can consist of maintenance personnel, clergy, principals, superintendents/CEOs, curriculum coordinators, faculty members and, most importantly, the educator. From acquiring the money to fund the pro-ject to making sure the equipment and furnishings adequately facilitate teaching in the lab, all factions should be involved in the planning process.
Now it’s time to put the plan together. The progression to design a single science lab typically follows a several-phase process. Your particular process may vary depending on the size of the project, number of rooms, etc., but all projects will advance through the same basic phases.
Needs Assessment
In this phase, your team will look at the major criteria that influence a design: space planning, accessibility and safety.
Schools today are often facing the need to teach more students with fewer or smaller facilities and even less funding. There is a tendency to put more students into a classroom than it should safely contain. The NSTA publishes the Guide to School Science Facilities, and it suggests the following:
• A minimum of 45 square feet per student for a “lab-only” facility
• A minimum of 65 square feet per student for a lab and classroom combination facility
• 48-inch-wide aisles for ease of movement and safety
• One sink for every four to five students
In considering students with disabilities, be mindful that not only permanently disabled students can benefit from a room adaptation. Consider those students who may be temporarily disabled (i.e., sports injury, accident, etc.). Here are some accessibility guidelines:
• Allow a minimum 36 inches of aisle space for wheelchair access
• Adapt eyewash and shower units for handicap usage
• Provide wheelchair access to one workstation and one sink, and perhaps also add a pad-dle handle faucet to this sink for greater adaptability
• Provide audible and visual cues/alarms within the lab
The primary concern of an educational lab should be the safety of the students, faculty and other people that may be in the lab at any given time. You ultimately want the students to learn, but you need them to be safe while they do. For example:
• Portable or fixed fume hoods must be used when potentially harmful and noxious fumes are created during experiments.
• Chemicals should be stored in an appropriate locking cabinet that is located within a separate locked and adequately ventilated storage room off the main lab
• Safety eyewash and shower units (which are ADA-compliant) should be present in every lab environment and must be unobstructed, visible and easily accessible
• The correct size and type of fire extinguisher must be included in all labs, prep rooms and storage rooms and should be unobstructed, visible and located near the exit.
(Check local ordinances to determine which type and size to purchase.)
Creation of an Initial Layout and Design
In this phase, your team should consider things that can further influence the design. Examples are trends, technology, standards and curriculum.
In today’s teaching environment, “no child left behind” is stressing more accountability in edu-cating students, and schools are responding by modifying their lab designs. Hands-on and in-quiry-based teaching is leading to increased mobility and rooms being integrated into the science learning experience rather than just containing it. For example:
• Ceiling height is being increased
• Fixed casework and sinks are now being located on the perimeter of the room as “dock-ing stations” for mobile workstations
• Mobile instructor’s desks and workstations are gaining popularity, since they can be moved throughout the room for more flexibility and better instruction, observation and classroom control
Technology today continues to shape the way labs are designed and influence how students learn. Computers, laptops, data logging equipment, test probes, PDAs, wireless networks, LCD projectors, smartboards and other electronic equipment are being integrated into designs to offer students a wider range of experiences and resources.
As standards change, the curriculum programs get more complex and involved in order to meet those standards. The creation of a lab that is flexible enough to accommodate several disciplines is becoming more popular.
Final Revisions
In this phase, the drawings are evaluated to verify they meet the needs established in phases one and two.
Final Approval
In this phase, your team will look more closely at the furniture and equipment needed in the lab and evaluate it typically using five key factors:
1. Materials
2. Construction
3. Functionality
4. Aesthetics
5. Safety
Ultimately, cost is often the deciding factor, and, unfortunately, it can compromise one or more of these key issues. This is the time when your team needs to decide the value of the students’ learning experience. At an average cost of $40 to $65 per square foot for the furniture portion of most educational science labs (estimating 24 students at 45 square foot per student), the most important factors often rise to the top.
Demolition, Room Prep, Manufacturing and Delivery
With typical manufacturing lead times of six to 14 weeks, planning for this phase can be crucial to your project completion goals. The peak season for educational lab construction is during the summer months, in order for the new classrooms or labs to be ready for students when school opens in the fall. This means that for a June, July or August delivery, you must plan to order the product by February or March to meet that schedule. For renovations, demolition and room preparations typically take place shortly after the students and faculty leave for the summer.
Installation
Depending on the complexity and size of your project, installation of the casework, work sur-faces, fixtures and primary equipment can take one to four weeks. Depending on the utilities in-volved, you may need to include one to four additional weeks for electrical, plumbing and HVAC work to complete your project.
Lab planning can be a fun and exciting experience, but it’s always best to do your homework (no pun intended!). With science labs averaging a lifespan of 30 to 50 years, it is advisable to seek out the resources available to help you. Valuable information is available from established sources such as NSTA, ADAAG, ANSI and other organizations that publish suggested guide-lines for labs. There are also architects and experienced science lab planners to help you each step of the way. With a little help, your school will be able to avoid the pitfalls and create an ideal science learning environment for your students.
Gordon Strohminger and John Flockenzier offer more than 21 years of combined market and lab planning experience to K-12 science educators. For the last six years, they have been the lab planning specialists for Frey Scientific, www.freyscientific.com.
Product Roundup
Biofit Lab Chairs
BioFit Engineered Products offers heavy-duty DD Series chairs for functional, cost-effective seating in school laboratories. The seat and backrest are of Duragrain woodgrain molded styrene, a strong resilient plastic that looks like wood, resists heat and chemicals, and is easy to clean and maintain. Both the seat and backrest are adjustable, making the chairs adaptable to multiple users and a range of body sizes. Controls enable the chair user to adjust seat height plus backrest height and tilt. BioFit offers a nonremovable underseat adjustment knob, a low-cost option that helps make the chairs tamperproof and provides added protection against vandalism. The chairs are available with a fixed or adjustable-height footring and a choice of bases, casters and glides, and metal finishes.
www.biofit.com
iScienceProject
iScienceProject is a leader in portable data loggers for K-12 science education. HOBOware from iScienceProject is a new, easy-to-learn graphing software package for use with HOBO data log-gers. HOBOs are portable electronic recording device that can be set up in minutes to monitor temperature, humidity, light and other types of data. Compatible with both PC and Macintosh computers, HOBOware makes it fun and easy for K-12 students to convert data collected with HOBOs into colorful graphs. An intuitive, point-and-click user interface allows students to select environmental parameters to display, format graphs, and interpret the data. Each graph presents data in time-stamped format.
www.iscienceproject.com
Longo
Longo, a laboratory furniture provider for the educational market, helps schools evaluate their unique laboratory furniture needs and interpret those needs into lab solutions that offer long-term functionality and efficiency. Whether you are in need of laboratory fume hoods, stainless steel cabinets, laboratory counter tops, hood system equipment, or additional laboratory furniture, Longo has the laboratory furniture to meet your requirements. In addition to offering complete product lines for labs, Longo also assists schools with lab-space planning.
www.longolabs.com
Frey Scientific's Lab Planning Service
Frey Scientific's Lab Planning Service can help by providing personal lab assistance from start to finish. Services include: Needs Assessment, Product Specifications, Room Layout Recommenda-tions, Multiple Lines of Furniture and Room-by-Room Budget Analysis. From science labs to elementary science rooms, Frey Scientific has plans and products for you. Their Lab Planning service specializes in solutions for designing, planning and supplying furniture and equipment. They’re with you every step of the way, from planning through completion.
www.freyscientific.com
Lab Tables from Modern Educational Furniture
In addition to their custom-designed science labs, Modern Educational Furniture also carries standard science tables. Their four-post science tables feature high-quality construction and hard-ware. Solid oak, ash or steel legs support a sturdy frame, and you have a choice of solid surfaces: Epoxy, Trespa or Pionite. Optional leg-protecting boots are available for the wood tables. Mod-ern Education Furniture works with schools to improve their educational environments. Admin-istrators, department heads and teachers appreciate the quality furniture and service they provide at discounted prices.
www.moderneducationalfurniture.com
American Science Labs
American Science Labs' specialty is lab design. They can design completely new labs or reno-vate an existing lab, utilizing as many of the existing facilities as possible. Either way, they will create a state-of-the-art learning environment for the student and teacher at a budget-friendly price. American Science Labs' furniture features sturdy laminate or wood cabinetry along with an assortment of top-quality work surfaces.
www.americansciencelabs.com
Axis 3 from Sheldon Laboratory Systems
Sheldon Laboratory Systems’ Axis 3 lab station design allows space for standard desktop com-puters, flat-screen monitors or individual laptops. It is suitable for all science applications, in-cluding chemistry, biology, physics and general science. Special features of the Axis 3 station include a uniquely shaped adjustable work surface that allows up to four students working in pairs facing the instructor or individually seated around the station’s perimeter. This specially designed station allows lab and lecture functions to be performed in one location, and its con-toured edges accommodate comfortable movement around the station while providing quick ac-cess to a clean-up sink and utility services. The Axis 3 station offers options to fulfill teachers’ and students’ needs.
www.sheldonlabs.com
