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Leadership & Literature: The new English 10 course emphasizes leadership
Summer 2016 Volume 21, Issue 1 St. Mark’s School of Texas Alumni Magazine
The Winn Family Science Center Project Update
In 1961, as America was enthralled by the Space Race, the McDermott-Green Math-Science Quadrangle elevated St. Mark’s to the national stage. In the years since, the very foundation of science and technology has evolved at the speed of light.
With a lead gift of $10 million from the Winn
Mankind has ventured to the farthest reaches of the solar system, a
and biology. It will be an incubator to produce the
journey that in 2015 was taken to new horizons by Alan Stern ’75.
next generation of men who will change the world.
Family Foundation, St. Mark’s was given the chance to transform science education for another generation of Marksmen. The School has invested several years of consideration into what will become the Winn Family Science Center. When the doors open, the Center will be more than a building where students learn physics, chemistry,
Self-driving cars, once imagined only in science fiction, are already on the road, with the help of forward-thinkers like Google’s David Lu ’01
But before these dreams become reality, the
and Mark Stevens ’05. And medical research is changing lives every
practicalities of a world-class science education
day with breakthroughs in genetics, similar to the work being done by
building must be addressed. After months of
the students on St. Mark’s award-winning International Genetically
diligent research and review, the Board of Trustees’
Engineered Machine Competition team. Today’s Marksmen will
Architecture & Construction Committee selected
become tomorrow’s explorers, inventors, and visionaries. As science
New York-based Robert A.M. Stern Architects
education advances, St. Mark’s has dreamed of offering a state-of-the-
(RAMSA) to bring the building to life. RAMSA is
art facility to match and foster students’ intellect and curiosity. Now, the
no stranger to Dallas, having recently designed
Winn Family Science Center is the result of that dream.
the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the SMU Campus. Executing RAMSA’s vision will
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(top) Adam Subel ’17 connects with a Van der Graaf generator in Stephen Houpt’s physics class (right) Middle School students program a Lego robot
be The Beck Group, the construction company with a long-standing relationship with St. Mark’s,
(below) Ward Rushton ’16 and Jake Byers ’16 assist Captain Sunshine’s Chemistry Show during Alumni Weekend
who built the Robert K. Hoffman Center and Centennial Hall. RAMSA’s process began with a conversation that involved members of the entire School community. Additional architects and lab consultants were brought in to figure out a plan that would fit the entire School’s needs. Upper School students would need labs to perform graduate-level genetic research and a maker space to foster creativity. The Middle School needs spaces to facilitate the hands-on learning that ignites a passion for scientific curiosity. And the Lower School, which currently learns science in a classroom next to the Green Library, needs a space to call its own. Taking all of these needs into account, RAMSA drew up several design options. In the spring of 2016, the Board approved a schematic design that calls for a multiphase construction process.
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“The Winn Family Science Center will serve as an exemplar for STEM education on the day it opens and for years to come.” (top) Dr. Steve Balog leads a Planetarium show during Alumni Weekend (above right) Alan Jiang ’18 in chemistry class
Everything west of the ceramic Periodic Table will
The community will see a completely new facade
be removed to make room for the new Winn Family
of campus in the two-story Science Center and
Science Center. The two-story building will include
domed planetarium, paying homage to the
50,000 square feet of new space filled with state-of-
inspiring view delivered in 1961 when the original
the-art facilities. A new science lecture hall will seat
Quadrangle came to life. Steve Winn ’64 has shared
250 and will be able to facilitate both classes and
his memory of driving down Preston Road as a
special events. Inspired by the work of longtime
child and seeing the newly completed observatory.
faculty member Arthur Douglas, a new
He knew that St. Mark’s was where he belonged.
greenhouse will allow students to explore flora and
Now the School, in partnership with the Winn
fauna from across the globe. A domed planetarium
Family, the Board, and other donors, dreams of a
will serve multiple disciplines, taking students on
time when this new building will inspire the next
journeys across the galaxy. All interior finishes in
generation of young pioneers.
the existing two-story McDermott-Green Math & Science Quadrangle will be renovated, giving
“I feel we have an obligation to always look to the
new life to the building and giving Middle School
future with high aspirations,” Eugene McDermott
classes and physics labs modern learning spaces.
Headmaster David W. Dini told The ReMarker.
But perhaps the most visible change will be seen by those driving down Preston Road.
“We’ve inherited a great legacy because so many people looked to the future and said, ‘We should dream big, and we should set the highest standards.’”
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(opposite) Students in Doug Rummel’s Information Engineering class work on their vision system electronic game project
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St. Mark’s School of Texas 10600 Preston Road Dallas, Texas 75230-4047 214.346.8000 • www.smtexas.org