Change is good.

The chemistry lab underwent major changes this past summer and students and teachers are enjoying those changes.

The new lab features SMART boards for the students to work with, goldfish-shaped desks to make collaboration easier, new cabinets to store chemicals, and a TV for students to see experiments from across the room.

Teacher Jennie Voss feels the new technology in the lab provides more opportunities for students to expand their knowledge. “We’ve even had students connect their phones to the TV in the lab,” Voss said. “The whole class could see how successful their experiment was!”

Sophomore Victoria Harris believes it might be easier to learn with the new lab.  “I feel like we might be learning more than the classes before us,” Harris said, “because we have newer technology.”

The new classroom has a TV in the back of the room so the students can all watch the experiments happen from all places in the room.

Senior Kennedy Niles was jealous about the chemistry lab update because she took the class last year. “If I would have just waited one more year,” Niles said, “I would have been able to use the new lab.”

Harris was a part of the first class to experience the update. “I think it’s cool just because everything is new to us,” Harris said. “We were the first class to do a lab in there. We learned along with Ms. (Jennie) Voss how everything worked.”

Because the room is brand new, the teachers had some obstacles to overcome. “Ms. Voss used to push wrong buttons on the SMART board and all the notes would go away,” Harris said. “She could usually find her notes again, but sometimes she couldn’t find them. Now if it happens, we just laugh and find it right away.”