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

  • University of Kentucky Receives $150M Gift Toward New Arts District

    The University of Kentucky’s Board of Trustees recently received a $150-million gift from The Bill Gatton Foundation, according to a university news release, to build a new arts district on the campus in Lexington, Ky. The new district will feature a new College of Fine Arts building and a multi-hundred-seat theater, among other amenities.

  • Illinois State University Breaks Ground on College of Fine Arts Transformation

    Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts transformation project, according to university news. The series of new constructions and renovations will upgrade spaces in Centennial East, the Center for the Visual Arts, and the Center for the Performing Arts, as well as replace the existing Centennial West facility with a new Commons Building.

  • Massachusetts K–12 District Selects Architect for New Junior High

    Swansea Public Schools in Swansea, Mass., recently announced that it has selected Finegold Alexander Architects to design a new junior high school for the district, according to a news release. The firm will create the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design for Joseph Case Junior High School after a lengthy selection process by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

  • Minnesota Middle School Finishes $23.5M Addition and Modernization

    Highland Park Middle School in St. Paul, Minn., recently announced the completion of a $23.5-million addition and remodel project, according to a news release. Saint Paul Public Schools partnered with ATS&R Planners, Architects & Engineers for its design and Kraus-Anderson for its construction.