FACT SHEET: McLaughlin Science Center - Gould Academy

Facts

Description: Expansive new student science center with large lab classrooms, lecture hall, greenhouse, computer center and celestial sphere in lobby

Size: Two stories, 22,000 square feet

Location: Campus of Gould Academy, Bethel, Maine

Cost: Construction - $3.3 million

Total Project - $4.4 million (including furniture, equipment, etc.)
Architect: Smith, Reuter, Lull Architects, Lewiston, Maine (James Reuter, principal architect)

General Contractor: Nickerson & O'Day, Bangor, Maine (John F "Jack" Kelley III '61, owner) )

Electrical design: Lee Carroll Electrical Engineers, Gorham, N.H. (Lee Carroll '55, owner)

Mechanical design: Wayne Fillion, Yeaton Associates, Acton, Maine

Civil engineer: Land Use Consultants, Inc., Portland, Maine

Structural engineer: Swift Engineering, Norway, Maine

Features

Structure:
-More than 88,000 bricks contained in building.
-Lobby stairs made of Stanfield granite from Barre, Vt.
-Ceiling of lobby is 29 feet high

Facilities:
-Auditorium/lecture hall seating 56
-Five large lab/classrooms (one housing an on-site groundwater testing system)
-Two computer labs
-A large aquarium, a greenhouse, three prep rooms, a conference room, seminar room, faculty room, technology office, and a network systems center.

Clock: Clock face in lobby is original north face of Gehring Hall Tower Clock and is the only surviving face left intact. Clock face built in 1925 and made of milk glass with a mineral that creates an orange/amber glow when backlit.


Celestial Sphere: The Gould Academy Celestial Sphere is a kinetic sculpture that is a variant of a 17th century armillary sphere. The armillary sphere was used to map the visible universe and to teach the concepts of coordinate systems in astronomy as they were understood at the time. The sphere allows people who use to visualize the relationships between two systems of coordinates that define the positions of celestial bodies in the Earth's sky.

For centuries it has been recognized that placing the Earth at the center of the visible universe isn't an accurate representation, but this Earth-centered view of the universe has long been used by celestial navigators in determining their positions on the Earth.

The sphere is constructed of stainless steel and bronze and rests on a polished granite base. The sphere is 70 inches in diameter and weighs approximately 900 pounds.

The Celestial Sphere was designed by Dr. Harry H. Dresser, Jr., Gould's Associate Head of School and Director of Studies who also teaches computer sciences and celestial navigation. Richard Slattery of Gilead, Maine, a parent of a sophomore student, served as the design engineer. The sphere was produced by Tallix, Inc., of Beacon, N.Y.


Background

The new McLaughlin Science Center is the result of a $2 million challenge gift from the McLaughlin family of Saratoga, Calif. Gould Academy trustees, alumni, parents and friends matched the gift within a year, and the family contributed an additional $300,000, for a total of $2.3 million, to fund the construction.

Glen and Ellen McLaughlin are the parents of Glen W. McLaughlin, who graduated as valedictorian of the Class of 1988 at Gould and went on to earn bachelor's and doctorate degrees at Carnegie Mellon and Stanford universities, respectively. Glen W. McLaughlin is presently Chief Technical Officer of Novasonics, Inc., in Mountain View, Calif., a developer of high quality handheld ultrasound units for several medical applications.

The McLaughlin family believes a solid foundation in science at the secondary school level is crucial not only to those who aspire to eventual careers in science but also to others who go on to different fields of endeavor.

About Gould Academy

Founded in 1835, Gould Academy is a private boarding school that provides a traditional and innovative college preparatory education to about 230 students in grades 9-12. Nearly half the students are from Maine, another 15 percent from throughout New England, and the remaining from other parts of the U.S, Europe and Asia. The mission of Gould Academy is to inspire young men and women to achieve high standards in their academic, artistic, and athletic pursuits; to demonstrate responsibility to the community; and to explore the natural world. Academic departments include English, History, Modern and Classical Languages, Science, Mathematics, Art, Performing Arts, and Computer Science. Gould fields more than 25 competitive teams in 17 sports and offers multiple extracurricular activities. Gould has more on-snow programs than any other school in New England, which take place at nearby Sunday River Ski Resort or on cross-country trails that leave from campus.

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