New Minnesota High School Features Industrial Tech Spaces

Minnesota’s Menahga High School opened its doors this week, while construction continues in a few areas of the school like the gym and the kitchen. The school is scheduled to be fully completed in October.

The two-level building is brightly lit with numerous windows and an open-air commons area.

“There’s so much natural light coming in,” Ashley Bachmann, a math teacher at the school, said. “I like all the different work spaces they’ve created, with tables and chairs. I think that’s so cool. It’s such a neat idea for kids to work versus just the classroom.”

The high school will feature state-of-the-art science labs, a metal shop with 10 welding stations and an industrial tech shop with small engine and small projects space. Principal Mark Frank told a local newspaper that the long-term goal is to assemble student teams who design and build their own ice-fishing houses.

The new gym scoreboard uses the same software as U.S. Bank Stadium. Students will be able to create graphics, like photos of the team lineups, for the new scoreboard.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • California Middle School Breaks Ground on Major Renovation Project

    The Hillsborough City School District (HCSD) in Hillsborough, Calif., recently began construction on new multipurpose and administration facilities for Crocker Middle School, according to a news release.

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Tennessee Middle School Completes Health, Life Safety Renovations

    The Giles County Board of Education in Pulaski, Tenn., recently announced that a series of renovation projects has been completed at Bridgeforth Middle School, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects & Engineers and Brindley Construction to modernize building systems at one of the district’s oldest schools.