Holy Family Students Get a New Science Lab

Dr. Peter Schelkun and his family have made a significant financial donation to Holy Family Parish School for the creation of the Peter Schelkun Family Science Center.

The Science Center has been completed and will be dedicated at 2 p.m. on Oct. 6, as part of Holy Family’s 60th School Reunion Celebration.

“It all began with a heart. A cow heart specifically,” said Schelkun, a retired dentist. “I was visiting Holy Family after hearing about Mary Jo Scoville’s middle school science curriculum. When I arrived, the students were conducting a heart dissection lab. I didn’t get to do that until comparative anatomy in pre-med!

"Unfortunately, the room didn’t have the proper refrigeration and Mrs. Scoville was carting the hearts back and forth from her home," he said. "I was so impressed with her dedication and determination to teach these kids. I knew she needed a proper classroom – one that was up to par with her extraordinary curriculum.”

The planning and design for the renovation took more than a year. The physical renovation took place last summer. It required extensive plumbing, electrical, ventilation work, painting and custom cabinetry.

The total cost of the renovation was just shy of $40,000.

“The renovation is really breathtaking,” said Angela Little, Principal of Holy Family Parish School. “When you have a strong, rigorous science program, but you can’t plug the necessary equipment in because you don’t have enough outlets, that is a problem. Thanks to the Schelkun family, we now have a room that can support all the proper tools required to help science students become young scientists.”

The dedication will include the mounting of a plaque next to the room that will read: "Peter Schelkun Family Science Center, Dedicated to Future Holy Family Scientists, October 2013"

The plaque will also lists the names of the Schelkun family along with their advanced degrees.

“We wanted to list all of their advanced degrees so that students would ask about them,” said Mary Jo Scoville, science teacher at Holy Family. “What is a PhD? What does DDS stand for? Asking questions is how scientists learn. Now those questions can start right at the door of the classroom.”