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homerhorizon.com news
the Homer Horizon | December 15, 2016 | 9
New LTHS lab first of its kind in Illinois
CITGO grant allows
Lockport to create
innovative STEM lab
Max Lapthorne
Contributing Editor
As one student carefully
examines a human heart
while feeling the heartbeat in
their hand, another is moving
mountains to create a virtual
geographic landscape.
This scene is now possible
in Lockport Township High
School’s STEM Innovative
3-D Laboratory, which
opened this school year. The
lab — paid for with money
from the CITGO STEM Talent
Pipeline monetary grant
— is the first of its kind in a
high school in the state of Illinois.
“We’re really focusing on
making sure our students are
Lockport Third Ward alderman Darren Deskin (middle) tests
out the lab Dec. 6 during the open house event at Lockport
Township High School’s East Campus. Photo submitted
college and career ready after
[LTHS],” said Brett Gould,
assistant superintendent of
curriculum and instruction
for D205.
The lab is equipped with
12 zSpace 3-D virtual reality
computers, an interactive
touch screen by Promethean,
3-D printers and an
augmented reality sandbox.
Those tools can be used to
study anything from anatomy
to auto mechanics to art.
The versatility of the lab
is one of the main reasons
Gould was eager to bring it
to LTHS.
“We’re hoping all of our
teachers in all of our disciplines
will be able to bring
their classes down there and
experience it,” Gould said.
The lab has been open
since the beginning of the
school year, but the high
school held an open house
Dec. 6, where students demonstrated
the capabilities of
the different tools to elected
officials, school administrators
and CITGO Lemont Refinery
employees.
One student had some extra
time during anatomy class
and used an auto mechanic
program on one of the computers
to learn to dismantle
and reassemble an engine,
and he showed how to do that
during the open house. Other
students worked for days
trying to simulate a tsunami
using the augmented reality
sandbox so they could show
it off during the event.
“They’re having a great
time; you can see the excitement,”
Gould said of the students
using the lab.
The high school applied
for the CITGO grant at the
end of 2015 and was awarded
the $70,000 to build the lab in
May of this year. The goal of
the grant is to help schools in
the area provide students an
education that best prepares
them for careers in refining
or industry, said Pete Colarelli,
government and public
affairs manager for CITGO
Lemont Refinery.
“When [Gould] told me
about the potential for the
3-D exploration, I realized
that this was something that
was very important for future
employees,” Colarelli
said. “This is something that
if students can learn how to
take things apart, that would
be a great supplement to the
rest of the STEM education
they’re receiving.”
The technology in the lab
is relatively new, so there is
plenty of room for improvements
and additions as time
goes on, Gould said. Teachers
at LTHS have even been
asked to give their input as
to what types of programs
would be beneficial to add in
the future.
The new lab provides students
a unique experience
while preparing them for various
careers and higher education,
which is exactly what
Gould and Colarelli hoped it
would do.
“Students get to learn in
a little different manner,”
Gould said. “[It’s] something
you couldn’t do from a normal
textbook or sitting in a
normal classroom.”
Prizes announced for 2016 Holiday Card Contest
Entries must
be received by
Christmas Eve
Bill Jones
Managing Editor
This past week, publisher
22nd Century Media’s Southwest
Chicago branch announced
the return of its annual
Holiday Card Contest.
We also threatened you
with more holiday songs
turned poor excuses for poetry
if we did not feel loved
enough by this week. And
while some of you have already
sent us plenty of holiday
cheer, we still felt like it
wasn’t quite enough.
That is why we are giving
you one more week to make
things right and appease the
editorial staff.
We also are announcing
(in the accompanying sidebar)
the full collection of
prizes we have been unveiling
via social media over the
past week, in case you needed
further enticement.
And here is a quick refresher
on the details.
We want to see your
beautiful Christmas cards:
custom designs, engaging
words, pretty pictures, colorful
envelopes. We also want
to read your year-end letters
(like a card, but with more
words for people to read).
We want holiday photos: in
front of the tree, on a holiday
getaway, with your pets.
Whatever it is you do for
the people you love during
the holidays (PG-13,
please), simply address these
things to Managing Editor
Bill Jones, and mail them
to 11516 W. 183rd St. Unit
SW Office Condo 3, Orland
Park, IL, 60467. Make sure
the items somewhere include
a name and a phone number
at which we can reach you,
should you happen to win
the contest, as well as your
hometown.
We will accept submissions
through 5 p.m. on
Christmas Eve (this year a
Saturday, every year Dec.
24). They must be received
(not postmarked) by that
day, so please make sure to
give yourself enough time
for holiday mail service.
The entries will be evaluated
by our editorial staff
and judged in two categories
— Best in Show and
Funniest. We will pick one
winner in each of the categories
from across all seven of
the towns covered by 22nd
Century Media’s Southwest
office: Orland Park, Tinley
Park, Frankfort, Mokena,
New Lenox, Lockport and
Homer Glen.
In addition to awarding
prizes, we plan to publish
images or transcripts of our
winners in print, along with
a few of our other favorites.
We do have three important
rules to follow.
• We are only allowing
one entry per household for
this contest.
• The entry must be from
this holiday season.
• Electronic entries are
accepted and can be sent to
bill@opprairie.com.
So send us those entries
lickety split. Remember:
This is your last chance to
bring an end to these wretched
“poetic” creations.
The Prizes
A breakdown of the packages that await two lucky
winners in 22nd Century Media Southwest’s 2016
Holiday Card Contest.
Best in Show
• A $25 gift card to The
Open Bottle, 7101 W.
183rd St. in Tinley Park
• Christmas Wreath
Mosaic Candle, courtesy
of Marley Candles, 12525
W. 187th St. in Mokena
• A gift certificate valued
at $20 for White Street
Café, 11 S. White St. in
Frankfort
• A gift certificate valued
at $25 for Chesdan’s
Pizzeria & Grille, 15764 S.
Bell Road in Homer Glen
Funniest
• Four passes each good
for one hour of jumping,
along with a $30 gift
card good for purchase
of anything in the park,
food from Fuel Zone,
merchandise, Sky Socks,
Sky Climb or additional
jump time at Sky Zone,
66 Orland Square Drive in
Orland Park
• Two hours of free
bowling for up to six
people, including shoe
rentals, along with a
pizza and pitcher of pop,
at Laraway Lanes, 1009
W. Laraway Road in New
Lenox
• A $25 gift card for
Sizzles, 571 E. Division St.
in Lockport