The Carhart Science Building provides classroom facilities and labs for programs in the Life Sciences Department and the Physical Sciences and Mathematics Department. The building also houses the Fred G. Dale Planetarium and the A. Jewell Schock Natural History Museum.
Science Labs
Carhart Science has many laboratory rooms for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teaching and research. The building was renovated in 2012 to house chemistry labs (two general chemistry labs, organic chemistry lab, analytical lab and biochemistry lab, and an instrument suite lab), seven biology labs (anatomy, physiology, general biology, plant science, zoology, genetics, and microbiology), physics labs, Earth science lab, science education lab, and fermentation lab. Additionally, there is a molecular-based student research lab, microscopy suite, a cadaver lab, and a cell culture facility.
Cadaver Lab
The cadaver lab includes two donor bodies (male and female) that provide an outstanding educational experience and preparation for students preparing for pre-health fields. These cadaver bodies, when used in combination with the Anatomage tables, allow students a vivid and fresh look at the details of the human body throughout the entire semester of study. The facility operates a study space with Anatomage tables that can be used after hours so students can continue to hone their skills even after the formal lab concludes for the week.
Cell Culture Lab
A cell culture lab is utilized extensively in BIO 434 Advanced Cell Biology class and continues to provide an outstanding resource for undergraduate research projects. Projects range from aseptic cell handling techniques to in-depth cancer research, including an undergraduate research publication in a peer reviewed, national available journal.
Fermentation Lab
For the study of fermentation processes, Carhart features a fermentation lab. Students can study fermentations and have hands on experience in making cheeses, beer, wine, etc. WSC has an alcohol fermentation license from the state of NE.
Earth Science Lab
The Earth sciences program at Wayne State College maintains robust teaching and research laboratory and field capabilities in the Earth science lab. Field facilities includes a site and equipment for measurement of groundwater parameters which include water table elevation surveying, groundwater flow direction calculation, and hydraulic conductivity determination. Investigations of surface water may be accomplished with a transit, tripod, surveying rod, flow velocity meter, assorted field chemical meters, and water sampling equipment. An extensive suite of field equipment for soil and sediment coring is available, including ice auger, core barrels, barrel driver, and mechanical equipment for core extraction. Laboratory equipment includes muffle furnace for loss on ignition measurements, centrifuge for chemical leaches of soil and sediment, vessels and liquids for heavy mineral separation, sieves for granulometry, and labware and vacuum pump for clay mineral separation by settling. Extensive mineral, rock, and fossil collections are also curated by the Earth sciences program.
Science equipment
Biology, chemistry, earth science, science education, and physics labs boast state-of-the-art equipment, such as five Anatomage Tables, donated by the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation. Other major equipment includes an NMR, GC/MS, HPLC, PCR, qRT-PCR, BSL2 hoods, DNA/RNA manipulation and analysis equipment, an electron microscope, and access to supercomputers for high-end computational work.
Typical labs have fume hoods and connections for compressed air, natural gas, and house vacuum. The labs are also equipped with appropriate safety showers, fire blankets, spill kits, fire extinguishers, and emergency eye rinse stations. Relevant research instrumentation is generally housed in dedicated rooms.
Additional facilities housed in Carhart
The Fred G. Dale Planetarium houses a state-of-the-art Spitz SciDome high-definition projection system that puts 3 million pixels on the 30 foot dome, can show 500 million stars, can look at space from any location in the solar system, can move backward and forward through time 100,000 years, and much more! The planetarium also has a great sound system, new carpeting, and comfortable seating for up to 50 viewers.
The A. Jewell Schock Natural History Museum houses over 15,000 specimens of birds, mammals, invertebrates, plants, and fossils, either on display or stored in our new museum storage facilities. The museum has a public display which showcases the history of life on earth and houses unique specimens such as a whooping crane, a grizzly bear, and a mammoth tusk. Interactive stations with digital microscopes are accessible to everyone. The extensive bird, mammal and plant collections are used by WSC students, and researchers interested in the biological diversity of northeast Nebraska.
