One of the Brevard County school district’s newest career and technical education programs now has a working Marine Sciences Lab.
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Brevard Public Schools officials hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday for their new Aquadome, located at Cocoa Beach Junior/Senior High School.
The state-of-the-art “engineering marvel” will serve as the new centerpiece for the school’s expanding Aqua-Science program.
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The school is surrounded by the Indian River Lagoon. According to the school district, students will be able to apply what they learn in class and at the new lab along the lagoon.
The Aqua-Science program is one of the newest career and technical education programs offered in the Brevard Public Schools system.
Roughly 120 students are entering their second year in the program.
In the new lab, students will have the opportunity to grow some of the same seagrasses, mangroves, and organisms found in the Indian River lagoon as they prepare to apply what they learn in the workplace.
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“I am just so excited,” student Pallasgrean Baiter said about the new lab. “It’s just such a different program that we’ve never really seen before. And we are so lucky to be living right on the water and getting to just do this insane project. It’s so cool, and I’m just so excited to be working with these tanks.”
The Aquadome is specially engineered to withstand coastal conditions. It features a 3,000 PSI concrete foundation that’s eight inches thick with a 21-inch thickened edge.
The galvanized steel greenhouse includes polycarbonate panel coverings that can withstand winds of up to 150 miles per hour.
Construction of the 1,200-square-foot facility, from groundbreaking to Thursday’s ribbon-cutting, was completed in just 112 days.
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“The Aquadome represents a significant advancement in our Aqua-Science program,” Brevard Pubilc Schools Director of Career and Technical Education Rachel Rutledge said. “Not only does this facility provide our students with the tools they need to excel in environmental and marine sciences, but it also supports our local community’s efforts to address environmental challenges like those affecting the Indian River Lagoon.”
The Aquadome houses 12 tanks, each with a capacity of approximately 450 gallons, as well as state-of-the-art water piping and pumps, an automatic sunshade system controlled by a thermostat to regulate interior temperatures, and a diesel generator with a 500-gallon fuel tank capable of powering the facility for up to four days in the event of a power outage.
The Brevard County school district is also partnering with the Brevard Zoo and Florida Institute of Technology to provide students with even more hands-on opportunities outside of the classroom.
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