Science Lab Campaign

You can Become One of Our Essential Elements!

The Brother Rice Science Department has grown in the past year. College admissions standards have changed, and we now require students to take three years of science. All students take Biology and Chemisry and then have their choice of Physics, Earth Science, Anatomy and Physiology, and AP Chemistry. We have a nice mix of veteran teachers such as Br. Patrick Hayes, Br. J. Toole, Doc Mathius, Dr. Mike McGrail and Don Molenda and younger teachers, including Tom Wazio '97, Sue Stanley (McAuley '98), Brielle Zahara-Such and Ellen Sass who bring new ideas and skills.

This past year, several graduates came to Brother Rice to speak to our students. Tom Moran '74 came to speak about his work at the Goddard Space Center on solar flares. Don Pogorzelski '68 spoke to both the Chemistry and Physics students about his work in biotechnology, and Bob Fournier '75 spoke to the Chemistry and Biology classes about his work as a chemical engineer. We are always on the lookout for graduates who can bring real-life experiences into the classroom for the students.

There are times we like to take our students out of the classroom to get a real-world experience. Br. Patrick Hayes has just completed his ninth summer trip to Kennedy Space Center with his 30 Physics students. On the trip, the students visited a hydroelectric dam run by the T.V.A. and toured Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. While in Florida, the students spent five nights at Cocoa Beach and toured Kennedy Space Center. The Air Force gives the students a private tour of Cape Canaveral and the launch pads of the early space program. During the winter, Br. Hayes takes his students to Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio to tour the Air Force museums. Throughout the year, our teachers take the students on a number of field trips to places such as a chemical plant, the National Weather Service, and a forensics lab.

In 1996, the Petkus-Crane Physics Lab was completed thanks to the generosity of John Wakerly '66 and his wife, Kate, who has since passed away. The lab includes the latest computer interfacing equipment and lab materials. Students are exposed to the same labs and materials that they will see at the university level. We now have the challenge to upgrade the chemistry and biology labs. The chemistry lab was remodeled in the 70's. It needs to be rebuilt along with an additional chemistry lab to supply the needs of today's classes. The two biology labs have not seen much change since the doors opened in 1956. There is a Science Lab Renovation Project underway to rectify this situation. Donors or groups of donors can purchase elements on the periodic table at a price of $5,000. To date, 24 elements have been sold with five more pending. When the first table is complete, we should be able to begin to rebuild the labs.