4 Notable Lab School Achievements

Throughout its 129 years, the lab school was known for leading the way. As we explore its history, we are uncovering many notable achievements. Here are 4 we've recently begun to look into. You can read about more achievements, recognitions, and awards on the About Malcolm Price Laboratory School page. If you know of other notable achievements we should look into please let us know! You can contact us through our website or by email: pricelabhistory @ gmail.com

 
1. One of the first high school Defense Councils formed in the United States after Pearl Harbor.

ISTC Laboratory School Director Dr. Guy Wagner formed the Council in January 1942. It consisted of 11 Laboratory School seniors, including ISTC  President Malcolm Price’s daughter, Nancy (today the nationally-known novelist). The Council collected and mailed boxes of food, books, and magazines to soldiers—especially Lab School alumni. It also worked to conserve electricity, paper, and soap to make the shortages less. A Victory Corps for the whole school was soon organized which focused on recycling waste, physical fitness, and Red Cross work.

Both programs received national magazine attention.

2. Pre-school string quartets – begun in the late 1940s by Lab School music teacher Melvin Schnieder.

The Suzuki method of nursery and kindergarten violin playing came to the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  Again the Laboratory School was pioneering.

3. Nationally praised Atomic Energy curriculum in 1950 for elementary grades through high school.

This full atomic energy curriculum was the first of its kind attempted in the United States.

The “Iowa Plan for the Study of Atomic Energy” was described as “the best being done” by the July 10, 1950 Newsweek magazine. A committee led by Dr. Guy Wagner created the elementary “bulletins” which were shared in one-day teacher institutes in 32 Iowa communities. Iowa teachers could incorporate the atomic energy “course” into existing science or social studies courses or they could teach the unit independently. Students studied both the science of atomic energy and its historical and ethical dimensions. The program was first tried at the ISTC Laboratory School.

4. 1994 – Helping plan for the Internet

The Lab School fourth-grade was one of three classes in the nation chosen to participate in a teleconference to help determine the route of the “information highway” (Internet)

These are just a few of the many noteworthy achievements credited to the lab school. Keep watching our website for more history of these and other projects as we continue to research the legacy of the lab school.

For the next few featured Monday's we'll be sharing and highlighting memories shared by you! We've had many memories of the lab school submitted on our website and we hope reading some of the thoughts shared by others will encourage you to do the same.


Our first featured Monday Memory was submitted by Joel Shepherd, Class of 1987, and may involve a confession or two of mischief "within" the building. How many of you knew this little secret of our school?


The Hollow Walls of NU High
by Joel Shepherd
Class of 1987


Thanks for sharing your memory Joel!


Be sure to visit Our Memories to read all the recollections shared so far, comment if you'd like, and find the link to submit your own stories. We'd love to hear from you!

This month your Price Lab History Committee has been busy exploring the wealth of materials collected and stored in the university's archives at Rod Library. The staff and student volunteers there and many other departments on campus have done a wonderful job cataloging the materials and beginning the process of transferring much of it to digital formats to both preserve the materials and make them available online. It is our hope that these materials and recollections of the alumni, friends, and faculty of the lab school will help us to complete a comprehensive history.

The Special Collections department has a listing of what is in the archives that you can view here: UNI Special Collections

IndexUNI is another great resource for insight into the lab school's history, with items like this news story on the approval of funding for the construction of a new teaching facility on 19th and Campus Streets from 1948:



As always, we hope you'll take some time to explore these wonderful resources, and if they happen to spark a memory or two, be sure to visit pricelabhistory.org/our-memories and share them with us. We love to hear from you!

We're using this Monday's featured posting to draw attention to the "Our Memories" section of pricelabhistory.org. As we work to collect and curate the history of the laboratory school, we know that you are one of our greatest resources. The "Our Memories" page is designed as a place to reminisce and join in conversation about our beloved alma mater. We've had many wonderful memories shared already and hope you'll consider adding some of yours!


From memories of favorite teachers, to friends, neighborhoods, and even a confession or two, (did you know there were "secret passageways?") You'll find 8 pages of stories that shed light on the uniqueness of the lab school experience and no doubt spark recollections for many generations. 


So spend some time enjoying the memories and then submit your own. 


We'd love to hear from you!

Did you know most of the Campus/Lab school yearbooks are available to view online?

From the "Little Tutor" years through the "Little Panther" years and up to the final years of the school, the yearbooks that are part of the Price Lab Archives held within Rod Library have been digitized and uploaded for us to peruse. (Many thanks to those staff and volunteers at Rod Library that put in the hours to make this possible!)

This Monday we are pleased to announce the addition of several new yearbooks to our online collection. Be sure to visit the Annuals page of our website for links to all the available yearbooks.

You'll notice there are a few years missing. If you would happen to have, or find, an annual from any of the years listed below, please let us know. We'd love to be able to scan it in to add to our collection. 

We are in need of annuals from: 

1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 
1934 1935 1936 1938 1939 1941 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1949 1951 1960


We encourage you to take some time to explore and remember and if it brings back some great memories for you we hope you'll take just a minute or two and share those with us on the Our Memories page here at pricelabhistory.org.

In 1941, Dr. Guy Wagner became both the new Director of the Laboratory School and Head of the Department of Teaching for the Iowa State Teacher's College. He would return to serve as director of the lab school from 1960 to 1962 after the untimely passing of Dwight Curtis. 

Of his decision to return to Iowa and his alma mater in 1941 Dr. Wagner said the following: 

“If the preparation of teachers is as adequate today as it was when I attended here, and I am sure it is, then surely the students are receiving as fine a preparation as could be had in any institution in the country, I sense this is a teachers college where the good and usable in the traditional program is being retained, while at the same time new ideas of merit are being capitalized on.”