Facilities and Resources

Mars Center for Science and Technology

The state-of-the-art Mars Center for Science and Technology opened in the fall of 2011 and has been recognized with LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its eco-friendly design and construction. It is home to the college’s science and math departments and features classrooms, faculty offices, research and teaching laboratories, study spaces, a rooftop greenhouse and an astronomy observatory.

Wheaton College Animal Facility

The Wheaton College Animal Facility keeps a collection of animals including fish, birds, rodents, lizards, turtles, amphibians and invertebrates as a valuable resource for students and Faculty interested in the areas of animal behavior, psychology, biology and neuroscience. It is managed through a collaborative effort between staff & student Caretakers, and Faculty & student researchers.

Wheaton College Greenhouse

The purpose of the Wheaton College greenhouse is multi-faceted. One major function is the conducting of research on both the student and faculty level. Many different projects of both short and long term duration are accomplished each year. A few examples of such research are dormant seed germination from sand banks and wetlands, nutrient studies, and genetic inheritance in consecutive generations. Supplying materials for experimentation during class laboratories is a second purpose served by the greenhouses. For example, students use spines from cacti for micro-surgery, or search among the Polypodiums for prothallia and sporophytes.

Wheaton College Imaging Center for Undergraduate Collaboration

The Imaging Center for Undergraduate Collaboration (ICUC, or “I see, you see”) is Wheaton College’s state-of-the-art facility where students and faculty capture and analyze digital images of diverse subjects from single cells to whole star systems. The ICUC was established in 2002 by a generous grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF grant # 0126637) to support the innovative teaching and research with digital imaging occurring in all science disciplines at Wheaton.

Other Resources

Wheaton Woods

Campus woodland located adjacent to the Science Center provides study sites for student independent research projects, the vernal pool research team, and labs in ecology, botany, environmental science, and introductory biology.

Wheaton Campus Trees

The arboretum-like quality of the Wheaton College campus is an important component of botany classes and a source of student-faculty projects.

Norton Reservoir

Nearby man-made body of water has served as a study site for student thesis research on biological and chemical indicators or water quality.

Nearby Academic Resources

City of Boston

Colleges and universities abound and are sources of research internships and academic libraries, New England Aquarium.

Brown University

Wheaton students may cross-register to take courses at nearby Brown University.

University of Massachusetts Cranberry Experiment Station

The University of Massachusetts Cranberry Experiment Station is the site of annual field trips by the botany class. Wheaton students are frequently hired as summer research assistants.

Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood Hole

The MBL library has one of the world’s most extensive collections of biological journals, and the MBL Marine Resource Center provides a wide variety of living marine organisms for research.

Marine Studies Consortium

The Marine Studies Consortium teaches evening undergraduate courses in marine/aquatic sciences and environmental management. The Consortium is an association of Massachusetts higher education and research institutions whose mission is to increase understanding of coastal and marine ecosystems and to promote policies that protect aquatic resources. Courses include: Coastal Zone Management, Marine Biology, Water Resources Planning and Management, Biology of Fishes, Biology of Whales, Maritime History and Wetlands: Ecology, Hydrology, Restoration.

SACHEM

Sachem is a consortium of schools in southeastern Massachusetts at which Wheaton students may take additional courses.