Last school year, the Agnich Science Building was torn down in order to build a newer and better version. In the meantime, the Science Village has been constructed for Middle and Upper School students to use while the new one is under construction.

The projected finish date for the new science building is the summer of 2023. That means the Science Village should be in use for the next two school years.

So far, the Village looks like it’s working well. The more predictable problems such as air conditioning and electricity seem to be absent. In fact, some people complain that the pods can be too cold at times.

On a more negative note, there’s no running water in science classrooms that would usually need water for more experiment-related activities. This also means there would be no way to wash our hands or use the bathroom in the pods. Usually, in a hands-on science classroom, there is a water sprayer placed there to rinse out someone’s eyes if they were to get anything harmful in their eyes. The lack of running water in these pods really scares me and makes me want to wear gloves, goggles and a lab coat every time we handle any sort of experiment.

Another issue is that the pods are situated all the way on the other side of campus. Because of this, all Upper School students have to walk around 10 minutes in the Texas heat to get to a class. This becomes really tiresome really quickly because some students have science classes last period and also participate in a sport, so they have to get across campus, change and get to their sport (usually) before 4:15 when their last class ends at 3:55. Also, it’s just annoying and is already a part of my day that I dread.

I also happen to have science classes right before lunch and I encounter a separate but equally frustrating problem because the lunch lines are already way too long. Having to come all the way from the Science Village to the cafeteria poses yet another delay to the ever-growing lunch line.

Last but not least, is the problem with the chairs in the Science Village. From personal experience, the stools they have students sit at are extremely uncomfortable and cramped. The stools provide no back support and actually add to the back pain students have from lugging around their heavy backpacks from one side of campus to another. My back actually hurts just from sitting on these chairs and it has only been two weeks. Imagine my back pain in November.

For the time given to construct the Science Village, I think they did the best with what they had, but that does not mean the pods are without faults. Just thinking about how cold it will get in the winter makes me apprehensive because the insulation of the pods has yet to be tested. Overall, I really hope the construction of the new science building ends soon.