For PS 58 Students, A State of the Art Science Lab

, held a ribbon-cutting this morning to celebrate the newly opened upper-grade science lab. The students crowded into the shiny new classroom eager to share their adventures and experiments with those in attendance.

"This is a terrarium," said 4th grader Cayla Nardiello as she proudly displayed a plastic case with grass, crickets and a lizard inside. "The lizard is the predator and the crickets are the prey."

Daniel Daponte, a 5th grader, told the class about how much fun he had with soil experiments.

"I like to get messy," he said.

The science lab has been five years in the making, said Assistant Principal Jayme Perlman. The lab was built with the help of Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, a former Councilmember who served the district, as well as parents and friends of PS 58.

Science teacher Keith A. Wynne approaches teaching the subject in a holistic way, integrating science into other classes as well.

"We try to innovate as much as possible by encouraging lower grade teachers to coordinate with science teachers," he said. "It's about training kids to be globally literate citizens in a flat world."

"Everything is connected," he said.

The lab is truly exciting for the students, who before learned about science from a cart that would visit other classrooms.

"Now we're able to experiment," said 5th grader Sophia Schneider. "Now we're actually doing the science."

Indeed, Perlman said many elementary schools don't have a full science lab for students.

"The science lab will make me ready for middle school," said Schneider, who hopes to attend The Math and Science Exploratory School next year.