Safety in the Science Classroom

From LoveToKnow Safety

From elementary school through college, safety in the science classroom should always be a high priority with guidelines, rules and regulations being strictly followed.

View a slideshow of lab safety symbols.

The Importance of Safety in Science Laboratories and Classrooms

In science classrooms and laboratories, hands-on experiments and activities are a wonderful way to keep the students’ interested as they learn about the world around them. However, these activities present safety issues and concerns that require teachers and students to follow strict safety guidelines to prevent accidents and injuries from occurring.

Sadly, in the past there have been accidents in science classrooms and laboratories resulting in serious burns, lacerations and even death from science experiments that have gone wrong.

A seventeen-year-old boy was electrocuted in an accident during a science experiment in an electromechanical science class.
Several students were seriously burned, one critically, when a flash fireball fueled by methanol, a type of alcohol, shot into the classroom as the teacher was demonstrating how various salts burn with different colors. This accident occurred during a high school chemistry demonstration.

These types of accidents could have been prevented if the proper safety precautions had been in place at the time of the occurrence.

Safety in the Science Classroom

Parents, teachers and school administrators need to be aware of the precautions that have to be in place when experiments or demonstrations are in progress or in areas where chemicals are stored. At times, even when there are safety rules for science rooms in place, teachers and staff are lax in making sure they are properly followed. Simple safety procedures such as wearing protective gloves, keeping long hair pulled back or remembering to use safety glasses when working on an experiment are often overlooked.

As a result of the devastating accidents that have taken place in science classes throughout the nation, higher safety standards are being put in place by many schools. From simple methods such as placing safety slogans and signs around the classroom as reminders of the rules of safety or holding workshops for teachers to update them on proper safety procedures in the science classroom, many schools are taking an active approach to keeping their students and teachers safe. In addition, schools must keep their teachers aware of the safety issues involving updated equipment and new science experiments that are put into the curriculum.

Overcrowded Classrooms Pose a Potential Danger

Another safety issue often found in science classrooms is overcrowding. When there are a large number of students in a small classroom, there is a much higher risk of an accident occurring as experiments are carried out in close quarters. In crowded classrooms, high school and middle school students are more in danger of bumping into one another while working with chemicals, causing spills that are potentially harmful.

In many high schools science rooms are being built, or updated, to include a floor space of at least 1,200 square feet to ensure ample room for safe experiments and demonstrations. Many updated science rooms also include:

Eyewash sinks
Safety showers
Modern fume hoods

Resources to Learn More About Science Classroom Safety

The following websites are excellent resources for teachers, parents and anyone else that is concerned with keeping science classrooms safe.

National Science Teachers Association
Expert Voices provides information and links pertaining to safety issues in the middle schools.
A safety brochure that can be printed and used in the science classroom. The topics covered include science class safety rules and regulations and the importance of following the rules.
A printable science classroom and lab safety contract

As schools move toward a more hands-on approach to learning science, it is important that all necessary safety rules, regulations and precautions are put into place and followed to ensure safety in the science classroom and laboratory.

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