Rob Schumacher, a science teacher at Sag Harbor’s Pierson Middle and High School, presented a proposal Monday for a new science classroom: a “wet lab” that would bring marine environments to life in a real-life, hands-on way, going beyond textbooks and simulations.
Such a lab, he said, could meet the needs of students at all levels, including elementary school children — and even the community at large for weekend and summer programs — to encourage excitement about marine science and promote better stewardship of the environment.
The proposal is modeled after a similar facility in the Southampton School District, which Dr. Schumacher and some colleagues and school board members recently toured.
“It was a nice, shiny toy, but I wanted to see how it was utilized, so I was given the day to go sit in all their classes,” he said Monday, “and it’s a nice, shiny tool. Every kid that went in there was fully engaged.”
Jeff Nichols, Sag Harbor’s superintendent, explained that this is an idea that has been in the works since before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March of 2020.
Working with Greg Metzger, a teacher in Southampton, Dr. Schumacher and his colleagues at Pierson came up with a preliminary design. It would include a freshwater pond, a touch tank, an intertidal pool, a coral reef tank with a mangrove ecosystem, and about 30 individual tanks for students to use for projects and research.
The proposal was received favorably by the school board, which gave the okay for the administration to pursue a more formal design.
“I was impressed when they were talking about interaction with students,” said Grainne Coen, a board member who went on the tour. Mr. Metzger “referred to them as the ‘traditional non-science kids’ who were getting really involved because this was so much more tangible and, as you said, such a great connection to the local ecology that seemed like an enormous benefit.”
Mr. Nichols said a space had been identified at Pierson for such a facility.
“However,” he said, “it would make sense to me to think about this project within the context of other facility needs that we have. As we discuss those in more detail perhaps it makes sense to incorporate this into what we decide to do.”