Mackenzie Packer
The Sandpoint High School science classes have been granted $3,794 from the Columbia Bank. The money was given in order to purchase the Vernier LabPro 2, which are devices and sensors that collect scientific data such as temperature, pH, CO2, and colorimeter.

Every year the Columbia Bank has given some amount of money to the school to buy new equipment. In the past the math department has purchased new calculators with this grant.

“I wrote the grant and it was based off of all the work the students have done for the science circuit,” said Mamie Brubaker. “It [the science circuit] was a hit and last year we doubled the size of it, and this year I wrote a grant to fund it.”

These devices and sensors, the Vernier LabPro 2, help transform the science classrooms at SHS into 21st century research labs.

“The technology advancements have been so fast and so many, that high schools can’t keep up with that,” said Brubaker. “This is one way to move it in that direction and it’s easy to  use that kind of technology without having to upgrade our facility.”

The technology purchased will give the students a chance to create their own labs and experience real life science experiments. The SHS science department is grateful to the Columbia Bank for their support and generosity for the teaching and learning programs.