GALVA, Ill. - Black Hawk College celebrated the grand opening of the new $3 million science lab addition at the college's East Campus with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday, Oct. 7.

Science faculty members and students lit a flash paper ribbon in the design of a DNA chain before dignitaries cut the official ribbon. Science-themed refreshments included dirt cake, cookies shaped like beakers and chocolate-covered crickets.

"Immersing students in their education drove the design of this new space," said Chanda Dowell, vice president for East Campus.

"The science lab addition gives us three updated labs that allow instructors to facilitate new, immersive ways of learning for students in chemistry, microbiology and biology," she said.

The lab equipment includes research-level microscopes, a rotating incubator, large hands-on models of cells, a gas chromatograph and a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer.

The 8,450-square-foot, one-story addition is connected to Building B. It also includes faculty offices, a resource room, student commons space, preparatory and storage space, outdoor seating and a bioswale behind the building to catch rainwater from the roof.

"With enrollment that has grown steadily over the past several years, the vacated lab space also gives us much needed additional classroom space," Dowell said.

"We also anticipate our science enrollments to grow when we open our new Veterinary Technician program in Fall 2015," she said.

More than 1,000 students attend classes at the East Campus, located five miles south of Kewanee at 26230 Black Hawk Road, Galva.

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