Public tours available of new McHenry High School expansion

Tours inside the new 70,000-square-foot Center for Science, Technology, and Industry at McHenry High School’s Upper Campus will be offered to the public this Saturday as well as in October.

The tours will run every 15 minutes from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to noon Oct. 2, according to a news release.

Visitors will be able to get a look at the center’s new biomedical science lab, advanced manufacturing lab, environmental science center with a greenhouse and robotics lab, according to the release. McHenry High School District 156 leaders will also be available to lead tours and explain the research and planning that went into the new center.

Among the new technology available to sutdents is an Anatomage table, a virtual 3D dissection system that allows students an inside look into the human body, in the new biomedical science lab, according to the release. McHenry High School is one of only a few high schools in the state to have this tool.

[ McHenry West High School’s $44 million expansion ready for upcoming year ]

Other new features include a broadcast journalism center, a robotics lab, INCubatoredu classroom space, an advanced graphics lab and an advanced engineering center, according to the release.

“We are proud that every student who attends McHenry Community High School will have access to our amazing new facilities, lab spaces, and advanced curricular pathways,” District 156 Superintendent Ryan McTague said in a statement. “We are quickly becoming one of the most competitive and comprehensive high school districts in the area and the state.”

Other facility improvements undertaken over the past three years include new lighting, ceilings, flooring and lockers at the Freshman Campus; new tennis courts; a refurbished swimming pool; new parking lots; and a new college and career center at Upper Campus. Also, both buildings’ heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems were significantly improved, including the addition of an environment-friendly geothermal well system at the Freshman Campus.