For the past two decades, elementary school students in Leander ISD have had access to hands-on science experiments thanks to the work of the district’s Science Materials Center. With the community’s support of the 2023 Bond, Leander ISD broke ground on the site of the future new warehouse facility for the Science Materials Center on Friday, Dec. 6. in a joint ceremony with the district’s new 18+ Transition Services building.
The vision for the district’s Science Materials Center came from Linda Lippe some 18 years ago. Lippe, the elementary science coordinator for LISD at the time, believed that the best way to guarantee high-quality science learning opportunities for elementary school students was to ensure their school district provided them with the materials. Out of that vision, the SMC was born. In 2006, the first 1,200 science modules were delivered to the 16 elementary school campuses in Leander ISD.
In 2008, the district’s current Science Materials Center space was purchased off of New Hope Drive in Cedar Park. Due to the tremendous growth experienced in Leander ISD over the next several years, the space was quickly outgrown.
“You can only imagine the happy tears when we heard the Bond passed in 2023,” said Brenda Howard, science materials senior specialist. “We are looking forward to having the new building where we can have designated spaces for our materials, modules and sufficient workspace.”
The Science Materials Center creates science kits for all elementary schools and on-demand for middle and high school classes, facilitating hands-on learning. The new SMC building will be located next to the 18+ Transition Services building, creating the opportunity for students in the 18+ program to work on building the science kits alongside SMC staff. When the new building opens in Fall 2025, it will serve LISD’s 30 elementary schools and prepare more than 2,900 science modules.
In addition to continuing to provide science materials to elementary school campuses, the new building will allow the SMC to widen support to the district’s middle and high schools.
“We are so excited about the increased level of support for campuses that our new warehouse will provide,” said Alicia Westcot, senior director of K12 curriculum for math and science. “Our new space will also allow us to expand our support to secondary schools and even bring in other instructional materials for different content areas together in one place, ensuring that we grow with the district and the curricular needs of our students in science.”
For more details on this and other projects funded by the 2023 Bond, visit the district’s Bond & Construction projects website.
