February 5, 2007

OLYMPIA…Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, said today he is putting his full support behind state funding for a new science education center at the Vancouver Trout Hatchery.   

“This project is visionary; it will create a passion in students for careers in emerging sciences,”Benton said. “The state should be a partner in making it happen. This investment would be in a subject where students need the most help – science; and it should be noted that you can’t have science without math, which is the big education investment push of the 2007 session.” 

The new facility would be a living classroom with sod roofs, wet/moss walls, solar panels, micro-hydroelectric generation, and fish rearing and viewing. The design encourages interaction between K-12 school students, college students and professional scientists.  

With more than 100 acres of urban green space, Columbia Springs encompasses many different microclimates and ecosystems. Programs could be short-term, where the project is competed at the center; or long-term where the projects are started at the center, brought back to the classroom and observed over time. 

The Columbia Springs partnership was formed in 1997; and field trips and learning activities are being offered now at the current hatchery facility.  Partners include the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Clark Public Utilities, the Evergreen School District, Clark College and the City of Vancouver. 

“Columbia Springs has a phased-in funding plan for capital needs, which includes construction, equipment, special labs, and energy aspects. I’m asking for the same kind of state investment in the capital budget as is given to other educational facilities,” Benton said.  

The total estimated construction cost is $13 million. The operating costs would be worked out through a science center funding formula. 

More information about Columbia Springs is available at: www.columbiasprings.org. For additional information about the plans for the new science center, call (360) 882-0936 or e-mail info@columbiasprings.org. 

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For more information contact Penny Drost
at (360) 786-7522
or penny.drost@leg.wa.gov