MEDIA ADVISORY: Gould Academy to Dedicate $4.4 million McLaughlin Science Center this Saturday

Student-built robot to cut the ribbon; McLaughlin family flying in to attend event

WHAT: Day-long dedication event to mark opening of new $4.4 million science center at Gould Academy. More than 500 alumni, parents, students and local residents expected to attend event, which is open to the public and will feature speakers, a robot cutting the ribbon, tours and a science symposiumin the afternoon.

WHERE: In front of the new science facility on the campus at Gould Academy, 1 hour and 40 minutes from Portland, 1 hour from Lewiston/Auburn, and 1 hour and 30 minutes from Augusta.

WHEN: This Saturday, Sept. 28. Speakers to begin at 10:15 a.m., robot to cut ribbon around 11, followed by student-led tours. Media may come any time during the event, however, a good time to come would be from 10:15 to 11:15.

WHO: Speakers will include:

- Daniel A. Kunkle, Head of School

- Dr. Harry "Dutch" Dresser, Assoc. Head of School, computer science teacher, and Chief Information Officer at Gould

- Dava Sobel, former New York Times science writer and author of "Longitude" and "Galileo's Daughter"

- Alan B. Ordway, President, Gould Board of Trustees

- Glen McLaughlin, the grateful parent whose family gave $2.3 million to the school

MEDIA CONTACTS: This week: Beryl or Jason Wolfe, (207) 775-5115

On Saturday: Jo Braley (cell phone) (207) 232-3345

BACKGROUND:

-The McLaughlin Science Center is unlike any science education center in Maine. It features a celestial sphere, an aquarium, a greenhouse and large classroom/lab facilities. It is also connected to the rest of the campus, other schools and colleges in the state, and the global Internet using very high bandwidth connections.

-The building is named after the McLaughlin family of Saratoga, California, who will fly to Maine to attend the ceremony. The McLaughlins gave the school $2.3 million last year to help build the new facility, and Gould Academy trustees, alumni and parents matched $2 million of the challenge gift in 11 months.

- Glen and Ellen McLaughlin were motivated by the experience of their son, Glen W. McLaughlin, who graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1988. The younger McLaughlin went on to study electrical engineering at Carnegie Mellon and Stanford universities, and is presently the chief technical officer at Novasonics, Inc. in Mountain View, Calif., a developer of high-quality handheld ultrasound units for several medical applications. Glen McLaughlin, the father, is a prominent venture capitalist who has founded 15 companies and served on more than 30 corporate boards. His wife, Glen W.'s mother, Ellen McLaughlin, is herself a former teacher and strong advocate of the teaching of science in secondary schools.

- The McLaughlin Science Center also features a 56-seat auditorium, five large lab classrooms (one is home to an on-site ground water testing system), two computer labs, a state-of-the-art network systems center, three prep rooms, a seminar room, faculty room, technology office, and a large aquarium and greenhouse.

- Founded in 1836, Gould Academy is a private boarding and day school that provides a traditional and innovative college preparatory education to about 230 students in grades 9-12. Nearly 50 percent of 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.

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Additional factual information is available at the Gould logo at www.wolfenews.com. Color photos are also available by calling Andy Sturtevant at (207) 775-5115 or contacting him by e-mail at andy@wolfenews.com. Thank you!