Tag Archives: safety

Safe Science and Small Learning Communities

Safe Science and Small Learning Communities Schools that are designed to serve students in small learning communities, or pods, can provide safer science areas and save considerable costs, both initially and in the future, by centralizing those facilities.  And, most students and faculty seem to prefer this type of arrangement.  This article, from the May [...]

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What You Don’t See Can Hurt You

A critical space for safe science education is often undersized or poorly designed in today’s new schools: the prep and storage space.
A guide to planning adequate and safe science prep and storage spaces.
Central Prep & Storage Room
While more and more science teaching spaces are designed following the recommendations of the NSTA Guide to Planning School [...]

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Science Space

On several recent projects I’ve had the opportunity to review ed specs prepared by several well-respected educational facilities consultants and have noted that spaces proposed for science education are often inadequate, incomplete and ill-defined. Since science learning space is unlike other classroom space, both in terms of area and cost, such program inadequacies hamper the [...]

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Designing Safer Schools

In the wake of the Columbine High School shootings, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has been besieged by the question: How can architects design safer schools?

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Designing High School Science Facilities

A major principle of good science facilities planning is to avoid building for a single curricular model. Since continued change in educational trends is inevitable, any plans for science space should allow as much flexibility as possible to avoid the expense and considerable inconvenience of reconfiguring the space later.
Traditionally, the high school program, served [...]

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Science Facilities by Design

Due to the basic nature of science, science classrooms and laboratories are among the most hazardous instructional areas in the school environment, so safety for those who will be using the facilities should be a prominent concern for facility planners. The planning team should give specific attention not only to the design of the facilities but also to the establishment of emergency procedures.

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Complying with Science

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is an evolving process; its impact on schools continues to be felt. There is nothing in the “ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities” (ADAAG) or in the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards that specifically relates to science facilities. Thus, specific applications require judgment on the part of the facility planner.

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