The Science Lecture Hall used to be a big, plain, empty classroom. Now it’s anything but.

In a push to enhance hands-on learning, SCHS has built its very own fabrication laboratory inside the hall, where students will be able to turn their ideas into prototypes with the tools, gadgets and machines provided.

“Success [in this lab] looks like someone making a prototype so well that they could start a company,” Principal Gregory Shelby said.

One half of the classroom has large lab tables and desks for collaborating with peers. For brain breaks, there’ll be a couple of loveseats for lounging. There will also be a carpet square set up to be the designated teacher’s area.

For longer recesses, the school’s nature center behind the lab is being completely cleaned up. The invading plants were cut out, benches were added, and there are plans to better hide the dumpsters right next to the area. Shelby’s vision was that, in addition to the nature center being a place to take a break, it could be a place of learning, too.

In the new-and-improved nature center, students can do things like take environmental observations and learn about water irrigation systems. Ultimately, Shelby sees the FabLab in its entirety as a place for students to mold to their liking.

“I want students to make it their own space,” he said.

On the back wall of the classroom, there’s a glass cabinet dedicated “for bragging”, according to Shelby. It’ll be where things created in the lab can be displayed.

The sides of the classroom have closed-off spaces for the louder machines. Shelby’s favorite – the ShopBot, a robotic arm that can cut plywood – will be in one of those rooms. The glass windows are double-paned because the machine is supposedly very messy, and deals with big chunks of wood.

One of the most unique features of the classroom is its projection system. In one half of the room, there’s a small pull-down screen, and on the other side of the room, a full-sized one. The purpose of these projectors is to be able to contact science labs elsewhere, and compare ideas.

Though the lab, sponsored by the 49ers Foundation, Chevron and Science Technology Engineering and Math Leadership Institute, doesn’t technically open to the public until mid-July, the school is doing some soft openings for the STEM Leadership Institute, the 49ers Foundation, and other key stakeholders. Shelby sees high potential in the lab, and goes to visit it himself several times a week.

“This is a huge win for Santa Clara High,” he said.