The Living Classrooms Foundation's Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Education Center is a 10,000 square foot facility built to meet the needs of our growing organization and the students it serves. The Weinberg Education Center boasts several state-of-the-art "living classrooms." A variety of our programs incorporate the facilities and equipment as part of the applied education opportunities offered on the East Harbor Campus.

A day spent at the Weinberg Education Center focuses primarily on the important relationships between the three most critical elements of our ecosystem: the air, the water, and the land. Students become investigative scientists for the day and make use of several learning laboratories, including an information technology/computer resource center sponsored by UPS, the Lockheed Martin Science Labs, and the Great Room.

Programs encourage students to hypothesize about the conditions they may find and the connections between their tasks. Students collect water and soil samples to examine and analyze. Using microscopes in the wet lab, students observe and classify the plankton found in the Patapsco River. Students also test their water samples for a variety of factors, including dissolved oxygen, pH, nitrate, and salinity. Students are able to examine Baltimore air quality through the use of a high volumetric particulate matter collector which collects air particles on filter paper. The filter paper may then be analyzed for pH and a number of various air contaminants using hand held colorimeters or wet chemistry techniques.

In 1999 we built the Bio-Science Technology Lab. In this lab students reinforce cell theory concepts with current techniques used in science. Activities include: DNA extraction from animal and plant tissue, gel electrophoresis as a molecular biology tool, staining and microscopic examination of chromosomes, and microscopic dermo testing of Chesapeake Bay oysters.

The Weinberg Education Center has made it possible for Living Classrooms Foundation to combine its philosophy of "learning by doing" with new and innovative educational opportunities based on science, math, and technology. All programs are designed to support MSPAP educational outcomes, and the wide variety of programs offered provide a truly unique and engaging experience for students.