Phelps Science Center
Phelps Science Center opened in 2001 with facilities designed to bring together Harkness principles and state-of-the-art technology. Constructed at a cost of $27 million, with an additional $11 million set aside for an endowment to fund the building's maintenance, the science center places Exeter in the forefront of science education.
Each of the 20 classrooms in the 72,000-square-foot facility is equipped with a Harkness table, an adjoining lab area, seven computers and an audio-visual system capable of projecting any computer or media source. The building is divided into wings – biology, chemistry, physics and multi-science – with five classrooms in each wing arranged around a common lab large enough to accommodate two classes at a time. Glass walls and large windows are a prominent feature of classrooms and the common labs, allowing passersby to observe the student scientists in action while creating a bright, open atmosphere.
