Our Zeigler Science Center (ZSC) is designed to house our physics and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) courses. The building provides a transitional space for our teachers to move from lecture to experiment with ease, by having movable furniture inside the vast classrooms. Because of this space, our teachers can now infuse new ways to approach, understand, apply, and practice science.
All of the design elements contained in the building directly reinforce and support best practices for the teaching of science to boys. The ZSC encourages students to engage in hands-on inquiry, to engineer creative solutions to real-world problems, and to actively participate in meaningful collaborative work.
Our academic classrooms are intentionally small in order to facilitate our belief in interactive, personalized instruction. Every room is wired for network access, and our wireless network continues to grow campus-wide. Heath S. Clark Hall houses six well-equipped laboratories for scientific research and experimentation, the Stephen C. Rogers Fine Arts Center caters to the fine and performing arts, and the John A. Pidgeon Library is renowned throughout the state for its information services.
Our boys carry their school-provided laptops around campus and use them in all of their academic coursework. The computers allow students to participate in directed online research activities, access and submit assignments through our network and use the latest in educational software.
Our campus is rich with maker technology and tools including 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers, vinyl cutter and press, green screen, a large format poster printer, and a full complement of tools and other woodworking machinery. These spaces allow students to prototype, make models, solve problems, and create original inventions. Students utilize the space to make rubber band-powered cars, lasercut originally designed rockets and planes, create luminaries and other hands-on projects. Adobe Illustrator, Autodesk Inventor, and Corel Draw are several graphic design and CAD programs students learn to use. All classes are able to use these tools for various projects, but most notable are the STEAM and Inventionland courses.
The John A. Pidgeon Library is the “learning commons” of the Kiski School, serving the school’s mission in preparing young men to succeed in college and in life. The library program seeks to ensure that all members of the Kiski community are resourceful, effective, and ethical in using ideas and information to pursue and generate knowledge.
Beginning with the 2016-2017 school year, courses formerly titled “Advanced Placement” changed to “Advanced.” Kiski is one of the hundreds of leading independent schools that have determined that AP is no longer the best coursework that can be offered. In developing our own advanced courses, Kiski teachers are not constrained by preparing for multiple-choice exams focused on a limited knowledge base. School-designed advanced courses are given equal weight to AP classes by colleges during the admissions process. Kiski will continue to offer students the opportunity to take AP exams. Students choosing to take an AP exam at the end of a course will receive support from the faculty as they prepare for the test.