New microscopes for CCHS

Grant money awarded in April will benefit science students at CCHS this fall. The $5,000 grant from ONEOK, Inc. was used to purchase seven microscopes.

Former Ekalaka Public Schools Superintendent Daniel Schrock first told science teacher Chioko Hammel about the grant in February. Hammel knew that the science program was in need of new microscopes and sent back a description of what the microscopes would be used for and how they would benefit her students.

In her description, Hammel explained how the school's microscopes were very dated and worn. Additionally, they did not have a fourth objective lens for viewing microorganisms well.

The school district did recently purchase two microscopes but the seven purchased with the grant funds will benefit about 80 percent of the student population.

The new microscopes are Flinn Advanced Compound Binocular Microscopes. Cathi Alonzo, a representative from Flinn Scientific, was able to secure free shipping that saved the district an additional $600.

Older microscopes will now be used by science classes in lower grade levels that had none before.

Danette Welsh and Heather VanGelder from ONEOK were at CCHS on Monday and met with Hammel to learn about the microscopes and how they will benefit CCHS students. Hammel even took the time to give them a demonstration.

ONEOK, Inc. is one of the largest energy midstream service providers in the U.S., connecting prolific supply basins with key market centers. ONEOK's operations include a 38,000-mile integrated network of NGL and natural gas pipelines, processing plants, fractionators and storage facilities in the Mid-Continent, Williston, Permian and Rocky Mountain regions.

Students had a chance to see the new microscopes when the fall school semester started on Wednesday in Ekalaka.