The new outdoor science learning lab at Holly Hill Elementary School opened at the beginning of the school year. Pictured is fourth-grader Kylie Henson, who is exploring one of the lab’s six planter boxes.

The new outdoor science learning lab at Holly Hill Elementary School opened at the beginning of the school year. Pictured is fourth-grader Kylie Henson, who is exploring one of the lab’s six planter boxes.
By Megan Alley
Sun staff

Holly Hill Elementary School opened its new outdoor science learning lab at the start of the school year, and so far, it’s a hit.

“The kids have loved it,” said Principal Shane Short, who spearheaded the project.

Short, who was hired on at the school last year, had taken notice of the then unused courtyard.

“It was overgrown,” he said. “Nobody went out there; it was just kind of hot, and staff maintained it just to maintain it.”

Short said he wanted to do something different to turn the courtyard into a usable space.

“I’d had an outdoor science lab before, and it was something that I wanted to bring to Holly Hill and have our kids be able to use it,” he said.

Short shared his idea with and enlisted the support of the school’s Parent Teacher Organization and the West Clermont Local School District’s maintenance department.

The PTO provided Short with a budget of $1,000, which was used to buy all-weather picnic tables to seat 24 students, a shade sail and all the science equipment, including thermometers, hygrometers and rain gauges. All told, Short came in about $200 under budget.

“This is a sustainable project that we don’t have to replenish year after year,” Short said. “It’s kind of a one-and-done cost wise.”

The district maintenance department donated all the dirt, timbers and rock for the project, and they, along with the school’s custodial staff, worked over the summer to bring Short’s vision to fruition.

“Any chance we can get to go outside and take kids out into the actual physical environment is ideal, so this was a chance for us to do that for our kids and give them a safe and secure area within the building, which is a big thing anymore,” Short said.

The lab is open to all students at the school.

“It’s wide open to anyone who wants to use it,” Short added. “The kindergarteners go outside and do exploratory science experiments, and some of our specialized teachers use the space to pull small groups out there, instead of in a classroom or office; it gets used quite a bit, which is nice.”

Short said it’s also great to see the students explore in the new outdoor lab and do different things outside that they wouldn’t normally get to experience in a classroom.

“It’s nice to hear about the experiences they have when they’re out there and the things they see; the hummingbirds, the flowers coming up or checking the rain gauges,” he said.

For exclusive photos of students using the lab, pick up a copy of the Oct. 13 edition of The Clermont Sun.