And he educates us along the way. The Living Materials Center began as an experiment. In 1976, biologist Jim Dunlap was looking for a way to interest his high school students in biology. I found that you cannot teach if students do not listen. They will not listen unless you hold their attention.
Animals hold their attention.
The popularity of his class grew so steadily, he had to relocate the class to bigger quarters every few years. In 1979, Jim and his menagerie were moved down into the basement. He began a program of visiting other classes with this, that and the other animal instead of having his own regular class schedule. In 1983, the class was relocated to four classrooms on the high school's second floor. Four years later, it was time to expand again.