If you've been following Geotripper for awhile, you may realize that we have been watching the construction of our Science Community Center on the campus of Modesto Junior College. It is a complex that will include the instructional areas for Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Earth Science, Geology and Astronomy, as well as housing the Great Valley Museum, an observatory, and a planetarium. The building represents the commitment of the people of Modesto and the surrounding communities to the advancement of science in our region, a region that experienced the worst of the recent depression and then some. We have the highest unemployment and the highest foreclosure rate in the country, but we came together to create what will be one of the finest centers for science education in Central California.
It felt for a long time like it wouldn't happen, and when construction started, it looked like it would be cut back and huge compromises made. But events conspired to allow an
even better facility than originally planned (in short, the recession cut down on construction costs).
For the longest time the only thing we had to visualize the center was a foundation and a styrofoam model...
But then, the framework started rising and one could almost imagine a building...
And now we come to this afternoon. We toured the building, coming to the realization that it will be completed in less than two months! We will be moving in for the spring semester (barring all the myriad things that could go wrong).
But it is getting close. There is carpeting and cabinetry in many of the offices and labs.
There's no telescope in the observatory, nor a projector in the planetarium, but there are foundations ready for them.
We're almost there...
Oh jeesh...I've got two months to plan on moving 20 years worth of geological accumulations...
...and somehow fit it into the new geology lab and preparation area...
I expect the next report on the Science Community Center will be the building dedication!
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2 comments:
Congratulations on your new building!
I have to admit, however, that I'm a little bit jealous...
At my school, geology, plus geography and anthropology, have been consigned to temporary buildings on the baseball field -- and they haven't even torn down our old buildings yet, so we'll be there for years.
To make matters worse, the baseball field is scheduled to be renovated and put back into use this year! They won't have a "bullpen" or batting cages, because that's the space we occupy. And we'll have to walk around the baseball field to get to the rest of campus.
So as you move into your new building, just remember, at least you have a new building!
Congratulations again!
I know that of which you speak. The first time we had a building renovation about 20 years ago (it was a seismic retrofit), we had to spend 2 or 3 years in the warehouse of an engineering firm. I had a decent office, but the classes were taught in a former (and too small) boardroom, and the lab was taught in a supply room. Our storage was in...a warehouse. For what it is worth, the students at the time had a "bunker" mentality that actually fostered morale, and I look back and see that some of my most successful students emerged from those warehouse days.
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