FieldAR2023OnlineAll11.13 - Magazine - Page 9
impact
impa
ct
A
Commitment
to
Science
and
STEM
$3 million invested in five new state-of-the-art science classrooms and labs
After thorough research and design thinking through our master-planning process, we began to reconfigure
and renovate our science classrooms and labs. During the research phase, we engaged with our science faculty
to understand their space and equipment needs that best meet the curriculum goals and expectations for the
student experience. Teachers needed more space to move, flexible and movable tables and stools, enhanced
technology and writing tools, safe and separate prep spaces for chemicals and other materials, adequate storage
cabinets, and accessible utilities. In the discovery phase, we also learned
that teachers were yearning to develop new courses.
Rethinking our space allocation for science classrooms and the
Innovation and Design Lab (IDL, pronounced IDEAL) has
allowed us to offer three new science and technologyrelated courses in the curriculum: upper school Engineering and Making, Marine and Geoscience Systems, and
a revisioned Psychology course. Our middle school
students have a new Coding and Making course.
This project took place in just three months (JuneAugust 2023) and was funded by past philanthropic
generosity of Field families, alums, and friends.
Coding and Making
How do we bring ideas from our minds into the world? What role do
iteration, repetition, and logic play in creating, refining, and testing
an experience or object? How can coding and making concepts allow
us to explore our passions and find ways to improve our world? Field’s
7th and 8th graders have the opportunity to take our new Coding and
Making course, learning foundational coding skills and how to use 3D
modeling tools to design and create real-world objects.