Embellished with blue and gold balloons, the entrance to the long-awaited Bonnie Johnson Hall was adorned with a golden ribbon. On March 6, 2024, the ribbon cutting ceremony celebrated the opening of the Bonnie Johnson Hall to the Webb community. The lab was dedicated to and named after primary donor Blake Johnson’s (‘95) grandmother Bonnie Johnson.
After months of detailed planning and construction, the new science lab has replaced the previous Ahmanson lecture hall, which was two stories deep with tiered seats and usually used for large meetings or presentations. Mr. Johnson, his family, other contributors, and faculty attended the new lab’s grand opening.
The ceremony started with a speech from Dr. Theresa Smith, Head of Schools, introducing the construction process, the goals of the new laboratory, and expressing gratitude to all the lab’s donors. Mr. Johnson then cut the ribbon, and attendees entered to see the lab itself. Michael Hoe, Assistant Head of Schools, and Lisa Nacionales, Science Department chair, highlighted new features in the lab.
New features include a sky-light, which shines both natural and artificial light into the classroom.
Two fume hoods are placed in the lab, and the ceilings contain panels that absorb the sound of classroom chatter and loud machines to allow for a more focused classroom setting.
To the side, there is a large prep room containing a deionized (DI) water station, crushed ice machine, and a fridge with a glass door.
“The setup was so well thought out; it makes it a place that is on the cutting edge of science,” said Ms. Nacionales. “I’m really excited about that deionized water station: it really does make a difference in our labs, time and efficiency.”
This water station is so important because of the use of deionized water. This water contains no dissolved minerals, allowing for control and accurate results during testing.
Even small upgrades or additions such as deionized water or crushed ice can make a difference. Clean water is used constantly as it is the critical component of all solutions and everything science students do.
Since the space used to be a lecture hall, it was quite deep, spanning two stories. The bottom section of the old hall, now the area below the lab, has been turned into a museum storage space for fossils.
“The lecture hall doesn’t fit with our philosophy of learning or our needs. We needed more lab space, and the museum needed more storage,” said Mr. Hoe. “It made sense to maximize the use of that old lecture hall.”
The science department is excited about the versatility and flexibility of the new lab. Many attendees asserted that it is a space where almost every Webb science class could be taught.
“We want it to be flexible,” said Mr. Hoe. “We want to be able to imagine things that we aren’t doing yet that we can do now because of the Bonnie Johnson Hall.”
Below are photos of the ceremony and the new science lab.
![Student researcher Elaine Tang (‘24) created a comic for the Fossil Fest to explain the two ways fossils are formed in a tarpit. “I chose to explain my research by comic because there are a lot of kids coming to the [Fossil] Fest,” Elaine said. “They are all very interested and even painted on my comic with their favorite colors.” Fossil Fest is one of the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology Discovery Day events during which scientists and museum visitors are invited to celebrate paleontology.](https://webbcanyonchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/9eae070d6f5f12b684fd6d4ff457a01.jpg)
