Intro Lab

Yesterday, we opened a new Intro Biology laboratory to students for the first time. Today I walked down and took some pictures. It really takes me back.

The first major project I took on when I arrived at UMass Amherst was to propose a redesign of the intro labs. It was an incredible experience to be fresh out of graduate school and having a transformative effect on the preparation of the majors at a research University. Scientists often are conservative about science educators -- my experience in graduate school had prepared me to expect that I'd be relegated to working with non-majors. It was a surprise to arrive and hear that the faculty *wanted* me to shake things up.

I met for months with a committee while I outlined my vision, persuaded everyone, found money on campus, and nailed down the design. The goal was to bring all the rooms together (rather than having them scattered around the building) and have a design that provided four octagonal tables, each for two groups of to work around computers, with each pair of tables connected with a long table for wet work. I had to make several compromises on what I wanted due to budget constraints -- and one person who just couldn't be persuaded that the design would work. She was convinced that the connecting benches needed to be as long as possible to make sure there was enough space. I had wanted them a bit shorter so that the benches could be off-set from one another to make it easier to circulate through the room. In the end, I got 95% of what I wanted, but not that. I rode herd on the project while tens of thousands of dollars of stuff was ordered, the rooms were renovated, and everything got set up.

We opened the rooms with much fanfare while I had some significant apprehension that the design would flop. But everything went swimmingly. Over the years, the labs have been a model of success. Now, a dozen years later with a bunch of brand-new iMacs, everything is still working great and even the furniture looks nearly as good as when we got it.

When we had the opportunity to set up a fourth Intro Lab, I was gratified that there was no question but to build it the same way. In the process however, I got the chance to fix the stuff that I hadn't gotten the first time around. In particular, I got my shorter tables and to make the benches off-set. It's awesome.