More space, more tables, and consequently more tools to teach students more real-world, applicable and very cool science — that’s what teachers Scott Ross and Elizabeth White hope a remodeled and updated science lab will offer Flandreau students.
The Flandreau School Board has just approved the plans and the budget for a new lab. The last time the space saw any updates was eight years ago. Superintendent Rick Weber said that half of the lab was updated when geothermal was added to the school. The other half of the lab, he said, stayed as it was with tables, etc. for lectures. It will now all be updated with new lab tables, ventilation, and other elements.
“Moving in the direction of the world right now, I think having students understand science and the phenomena behind daily life, especially an ever changing technological environment, it’s important they can say, ‘I understand why that happens because of what I learned in Flandreau’,” said White.
The lab will go from six to 12 tables. This and other upgrades will cost the district approximately $250,000.

“The redesign of the lab tables will enhance the safety of each lab station, and the gas supply for each station will be relocated and out of the way during experiments that require open flame,” Ross said.
Work is set to begin as soon as school is out in May and be completed by June 30 if everything goes well.
White is the one who approached the school about the upgrades. She obviously has a passion for the subject, she said, but she really believes in as many hands-on activities as possible for them to really be engaged with the environment around them. But the project and bringing it to the board took all three of them to coordinate and grow the excitement for.
“Looking at things like DNA, using it at crime scenes or for paternity tests, that can all come back to the technology that we use. We didn’t have DNA until 40 years ago. It’s important for students to understand, this has a base in a science lab. So, how do we actually extract that DNA and see how this physics problem works in real life? We can simulate it on a computer, but being able to make it relatable in a lab helps them understand where it may have a place in their life.”
Giving them tools to problem solve and make science more appealing is the goal.
“My hope is that we can offer far more hands on experience in the lab as this has been lacking for a long time,” said Ross.