In alignment with it commitment to academic excellence, Montessori Center School (MCS) in Goleta as opened its first STEAM lab.

Funded by donations from MCS friends and family members, the interactive space will engage students in hands-on, age-appropriate projects, experiments, and activities that integrate the Montessori curriculum in science, art, technology, engineering and mathematical concepts.

School leaders and students attended the ribbon cutting for the STEAM lab.

“We are very excited to be opening our new STEAM lab,” said Melanie Jacobs, head of school. “We have always wanted to have a separate, dedicated space for our students to receive hands-on science lessons from our talented faculty, conduct science experiments, explore maker space activities, and much more.

“The addition of a science lab to our campus has been a long-term goal of ours and we are thrilled to make it a reality. Within the STEAM lab, our elementary students will have the opportunity to flex their critical thinking and creative muscles to collaborate, problem-solve, create and innovate — all pillars of 21st-century learning.”

To learn more about Montessori Center School, visit http://mcssb.org/.