Science building opens doors to students, faculty

A new building under construction, located on the north end of campus will enhance the way the sciences are taught at Scottsdale Community College.

Imagine a learning environment where students can measure life-sized dinosaur tracks, feel a 3-D cross-section of geologic formations and see the evolution of the plant kingdom.

"Science on Display" is the theme of our new Natural Science Building said, division chair Doug Sawyer. He has been involved in the logistics of the building and said the theme has been consistent throughout the design and construction.

Many aspects of this project were developed with the help of the SCC science faculty. The building will house all the laboratories needed for the science program. These include astronomy, anatomy and physiology, chemistry, biology, geology and physics.

The building is divided into four components. The north and south buildings will house the labs. The east building will be utilized for administrative and faculty offices and the west building will be the storage facility for the Science Department. There will also be two courtyards which will enhance the learning environment for students.

Andrew Timber, one of the project architects involved said, "What's happening outside the building will be just as educational as the inside."

In the north courtyard there will be an amphitheatre for lectures and a retaining wall which will reflect geological formations you would find in Arizona. The geology faculty has created the geologic story and will now be able to show it to students, said geologist Betsy Ivester.

Another part of the historic geology on display will be various dinosaur tracks that will be studied by students.

Geology professor, Merry Wilson said, "Our lab tech, Sean Robinson actually made the dinosaur prints out of clay and we're going to imprint them at specific distances to reflect what we've seen in the fossil records."

The south courtyard is designed to be a demonstration area. It will include a sea pond, plants found in a riparian environment (related to rivers) and fossils exhibiting the evolution of plants. These courtyards will also have gathering places for students.

"It looks pretty, it's functional but it also tells a story," said Ivester.

Botanist Liz Slauson came to SCC from The Desert Botanical Gardens and said, "Our goal is to promote understanding of these different natural habitats and their preservation while attracting some neat wildlife to these areas."

The landscape throughout the facility will be used as teaching tools for the science faculty. The outer corners of the buildings will each reflect a different subdivision of the Sonoran Desert with plants native to those areas. Interspersed throughout the landscape will be flowering plants which will attract wildlife and teach students about pollinators. Everything happening around the buildings will be a part of the learning process.

"There will be over 100 different plant species," said Slauson. "It will be a fabulous collection for teaching and presenting the different plant communities."

Most of these plants will be coming from Arizona growers but some are rare and difficult to find. Professor Slauson said these plants will be grown next semester with the help of her students.

Another unique feature of the Natural Science Building will be the external appearance. The finished face of the building will have a Pima Indian basket weave design. Timberg said this was done as a gesture to the Native American community. Recycled aluminum sheets will be used to create an air space of 12 inches which will act as a sunscreen. This will maximize the energy efficiency of the building.

Phase II of this project will be the renovation of the old science building. This will begin after the science faculty moves into the new facility. The move will begin after graduation on May 15. The Natural Science Building will be fully operational by June 1, the first day of Summer Session 1.

"It's going to be a wonderful place to work and learn and it's so wonderful that we (faculty) were involved in the plans of the building," said Ivester.