Labs seem incredibly important for an inquiry-based classroom.
Some teachers stop doing them because of management issues. Three days per lab is one way to plan - day one for preparation and exploration, day 2 for the actual data collection, day 3 for analysis and communication. I have also been observing at Apex High School, in the same classroom as Kevin Williams. I couldn't agree more with Kevin's response. I wanted to build on his response about the Apex High chemistry class, and discuss management issues.