The remodeling of Loftsgard room 116 is complete, and the laboratory classroom has been busy since the first day of the fall semester. Classes taught in the room are required for Crop and Weed Science majors.
Remodeling of the laboratory classroom began in early 2016. The first classes were held in August, with 532 students in 22 laboratory sections. The spring semester has 547 students in 23 laboratory sections, which is a 7 percent increase from the 2015 spring semester enrollment. The new classroom space allows for 36 students in each laboratory section.
Laboratory classes are World Food Crops taught by Rebekah Oliver and Brenda Deckard; Weed Identification taught by Greta Gramig; Principles of Crop Production taught by Burton Johnson; Genetics taught by Michael Christoffers; Principles of Forage Production taught by Marisol Berti; and Principles of Weed Science taught by Kirk Howatt.
The classroom has access to a state-of-the-art growth room, storage for laboratory equipment and educational materials such as dried plants and mounts, dual projection screens, white boards, ceiling mounted extension cords, movable desks, easy clean floors and soil traps in sinks.
“Activities in the former classroom were crowded and class size had to be limited,” Johnson said, noting his class has increased by more than 20 students from 2015.
Classroom activities during the second week of the spring semester included germination tests in Principles of Crop Production, microscopic examination of growing plant tissue in Genetics, crop identification in World Food Crops and weed identification in Principles of Weed Science.
Room 116 formerly housed research growth chambers, which are now located in the Agricultural Experiment Station Research Greenhouse. Pictures documenting the remodeling process can be viewed on Facebook.
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