Keene State to Celebrate Science Center Progress with Topping-Off Ceremony
KEENE, N.H. 9/26/03 - A topping-off ceremony for Keene State College’s new Science Center will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 12:30 p.m. at the Science Center construction site on Appian Way.
The ceremony is a tradition within the construction industry that marks the moment when the building’s framework is complete. To observe this event, the last steel beam will be hoisted into place topped by an evergreen tree to symbolize that the building project has proceeded well and without injury; the tree is also a good luck charm for the project.
“Keene State is celebrating the progress of its new science center and the many friends and supporters who have encouraged us to move forward with this exciting and ambitious project,” explained KSC president Stanley J. Yarosewick.
The renovation and addition project, which began this spring, will transform the existing building into a modern, multi-disciplinary facility. The new Science Center will house teaching labs in biology and chemistry, spacious classrooms, customized areas for group work, and a new lecture hall. The centerpiece of the building, an outdoor courtyard, will feature a miniature New England landscape complete with forest, hedgerow, and meadow, boulders, and a walk-through geological fault zone.
The Science Center project, which will cost about $23 million, will be completed in August 2004. The N.H. Legislature provided $19 million for the structure as pasrt of a program to upgrade science facilities in the University System of New Hampshire.
For more information, contact Judy Kalich, director of advancement, at 603-358-2371.