With a greater emphasis on STEM subjects, it is important to ensure your classrooms and laboratories are designed to a high standard, to create inspiring and engaging spaces for students to learn.
STEM facilities are a considerable investment, a poorly designed space could result in items needing to be replaced more often, increasing your costs and preventing you from getting the most out of your budget.
Careful consideration needs to go into the design and creation of your laboratories and STEM classrooms, to ensure you can create spaces that will continue to work for you for years to come.
Whether you are thinking about furnishing an entirely new build laboratory or transforming an existing space in your school, there are a number of key things to think about.
Aims of STEM classrooms
You need to be clear on what the main aim of the space is.
Are you designing the space to be used for just one specific STEM subject or do you want it to be able to be used to teach multiple subjects?
Is it just practical work that you want to facilitate within the space, or do you want teachers and students to be able to easily switch between both practical and theory learning?
How will you be using the space?
This is a question to consider when deciding on the layout you want for your STEM Classroom.
You need to consider a variety of factors such as:
- Your class sizes
- Allowing space to move around easily and safely
- Safe and secure storage for equipment
Witley Jones create floorplans for science labs in line with CLEAPPS guidelines regarding space planning and safe distances between items of fixed furniture.
Classroom storage is key
With extensive experience in the design, manufacture and installation of STEM facilities, we understand that classroom storage needs to be a major consideration.
Due to the nature of STEM subjects, they can present a lot of risks and hazards for teachers and students.
In order to mitigate these risks and ensure the highest levels of health and safety, you need to ensure you have adequate storage in place within your labs and classrooms.
Consider the types of materials and equipment you need to store safely and how much storage you will require.
Witley Jones Furniture is able to discuss solutions to meet these needs, helping you to maximise the space available.
Materials and safety requirements
Materials need to meet safety standards and be durable enough to withstand both the educational environment and the type of practical work associated with STEM subjects.
We are proud to be able to offer Trespa solid grade laminate, which is recognised as the market leader in high quality panels for scientific surface solutions.
Fabricated with natural fibres and thermosetting resins, Trespa has long lasting performance and has both chemical resistance as well as scratch and wear resistance, whilst also being easy to clean and quick to install.
We also offer Hardwood worktops which can come up to 40mm in thickness, offering a robust and secure surface to attach tooling in DT Workshops and can add a real ‘wow’ factor to a new project.
These are available in Ash, Oak, Beech, Maple, Iroko and others and can be oiled to help bring them to life and ensure a greater lifespan. We can offer depths from 900mm down to less than 600mm and set out heights to suit your tooling requirements.
Choose your colours wisely
Perhaps you would like the colours in this space to reflect that of your school branding or reflect the colours you allocate to each subject across your school.
As you will need to select colours for your desks, chairs and storage, you should also consider whether you want the same colour carried throughout the entire space, or colours within the same pantone that compliment each other.
Lighter colours make it easier for students to see what is on their desks, meaning that if there is an accident, cleaning the spillage won’t be as difficult. Darker colours and surfaces can make it more difficult to see any chemical spills.
To discuss your STEM plans in more detail, please get in touch to talk through your options.
