All,
å
Being
a major university in a huge city we get requests for lab
tours all the time at UCLA.å (Pre-covid) å And the range of
lab types we have across campus is incredible, so blanket
policies have to be broad as well.å Our Chemical and
Physical Safety Committee posted guidelines for tours at
UCLA:
https://rsawa.research.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/guidelines-lab-tours.pdf
Looking
at it now I can see that it should definitely be updated,
but it provides some structure.å One policy in my department
is no children are allowed in labs since a) they like to
touch things and b) their eye level is the most dangerous ‰??
benchtop.
å
Note
that filming is included in our policy.å This being Los
Angeles it comes up a lot with commercial filming companies,
but note that many schools have film programs as well, so
issues with student filming should be considered.
å
One
story: We agreed to letting the X-Files film a season finale
in our department about twenty years ago. å We charged them
$20K to use an empty lab room for three days and they could
only film at night to not disturb students during the day.
People from my department obviously came by to gawk, but
what impressed people more than the actors was the lab.å The
X-Files prop crew filled the lab with so many instruments
and equipment that it looked the same or better than nearby
research labs.
å
Craig
å
Craig A. Merlic
Professor of
Chemistry, UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Executive
Director, UC Center for Laboratory Safety
Los Angeles,
CAå å 90095-1569
å
å
Hi Shannon,
I see that you are at my alma mater.
There has always been a policy of no entry to anyone that
has not been trained into any of the teaching or research
labs and all the institutions I have worked at. Admissions
tours for undergraduates were never allowed into the lab
spaces.å If anything, when I have been part of renovation
projects, there have been design accommodationså to allow
for peeking in through doors with glass or larger windows
so students and their families can get a better view. Now
on the graduate side, things were slightly different with
regards to access to research spaces. I know of some
faculty that would allow potential students to tour their
personal research space, some would even tour common
spaces such as instrument rooms while others would not,
and others that just did the peek in for all areas. My
experience with Admissions folks and the people in various
departments has been mostly positiveå with adhering to
these guidelines.å å
å
Hello Colleagues,
This issue has been discussed a few
times in our Laboratory Chemical Hygiene Safety
Meetings here on campus and our Committee easily
reached a consensus regarding Admissions Tours coming
through our laboratories and/or research spaces.
Our laboratories are accessed via a
card swipe and students can only access the lab during
their designated lab time (or a close window to
that).å Some labs choose no student access and the
instructors let them in at the start themselves. Our
rule is that all student employees and faculty go
through our annual safety training, and these student
ambassadors from Admissions currentlyå do not go
through a safety training.
While meeting with my supervisor
this morning, she and I thought it would be helpfulå to
know how other campuses handle tours. å When I went on
college tours with my daughter, we peeked in the
window of the labs and the tour guide explained
various things about them.å However, we did not
usually enter the labs.å Does your institution allow
tours into the labs themselves?
Thank you for any insight you can
offer, it is much appreciated!
Shannon
Chemical
Hygiene
Officer,
Hudson Hall
Science
Complex
Building
Manager
Science
Programs and
Facilities
Support
Professional
101
Broad Street
Plattsburgh,
NY 12901
plattsburgh.edu
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