Holy Family Gifted New Science Lab By Rachel Adkins | The Daily Independent
On Wednesday, Deirdre Lyons, the Director of Corporate Image & Co-founder of Alltech Inc., in addition to contactors, visited Holy Family to gain insight on design ideas the school had and to obtain a better understanding of the space where the current science lab is located. Tabitha Smith, Holy Family science teacher, explained the majority of the current equipment in the lab is outdated, making it difficult to do possible STEAM and STEM activities. “We do the best we can with what we have and you go forward, but with this new lab, we’re going to be able to be giving our students the absolute cream of the crop best experience in education that there is, so we’re very, very excited,” she said. The new lab will include a dishwasher, an autoclave, an oven and water access — essentials according to Smith. Smith will also have a special desk that will have both a demonstration component and a teaching component. “It’s going to make things a whole lot more efficient and a much better learning environment for the students,” she said. Smith said the removal of the floor and the cabinetry will start over spring break that is set for the first week of April. After school ends around the last week of May, construction will begin. Holy Family will be the 14th school that Alltech Inc. has gifted a science lab to, with the majority of others being throughout Kentucky. Lyons said the schools are typically Catholic oriented and pointed out that five of the first 10 have become a Blue Ribbon School, meaning that they’re in the top 10 percentile in the nation. “It’s a huge blessing in many ways, especially for the children and the parents of the children, to have the teachers to teach their subject in a way in a nice environment, which is realistic to what the real world is like if the child does want to go to a science future,” she said. Irish immigrants Pearse and Deirdre Lyons started Alltech in their suburban Lexington garage in 1980. It is now a multibillion-dollar company whose work depends on in-house scientific research to develop cutting-edge technology. Alltech has sponsored more than 260 master’s and doctoral students in the sciences, many of whom have later joined its staff.