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New McKinley Med Lab strengthens student exploration in health care sciences
Simulated, real-world learning happening in Cedar Rapids middle school’s exploratory pathway program
Sep. 21, 2025 6:00 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — A new medical science lab at McKinley STEAM Academy — a middle school in Cedar Rapids — is designed for students to learn through hands-on opportunities and simulated real-world experiences.
Background
The school’s location in downtown Cedar Rapids in the MedQuarter — where there are many health care services offered — made it a perfect fit for a health sciences exploratory pathway that integrates academics with career-focused education.
The pathway launched in 2019. Students have the option of enrolling in several semester-long classes with an emphasis in medical sciences during their time at McKinley. In addition to the medical sciences pathway, McKinley also offers career exploration in engineering tech, computer science, performing arts and visual arts.
A portion of the programming at McKinley has been funded through a federal magnet schools grant awarded to the Cedar Rapids Community School District in 2022. The district received $14.8 million to be distributed over five years.
A second nearly $15 million Magnet Schools Assistance Program grant was awarded to the district last October to support its high school College & Career Pathways, which are launching in fall 2026.
A magnet school is a program that creates a special area of study in a public school that can attract students from outside its attendance boundary. The Cedar Rapids district has six magnet schools with themes that include sustainability; science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM); and leadership. Magnets also help desegregate schools and improve learning outcomes through theme-based experiences, educators say.
Construction began last year on McKinley’s Med Lab. Costs were about $850,000, funded by the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy, a capital projects fund that can be used for the construction and remodeling of buildings, funded by property taxes levied and collected by the school district.
What’s happened since
The Med Lab at McKinley opened this school year, offering students a place to learn science through a medical focus.
One classroom resembles a hospital room with two hospital beds and patient status boards.
At a ribbon-cutting earlier this month for the Med Lab, two students demonstrated how a new Anatomage Table — which displays digitized human cadavers — can be used for learning.
Miles Stastny, 13, an eighth-grader at McKinley, said the 3D anatomy and physiology learning table had arrived the previous week.
“We’re the first kids to touch it,” he said. “The digital human body is made from over 15,000 super thin image slices, so it’s really accurate … It helps us understand how the body works in real time. We can even rotate, zoom in and slice through the body to see organs, muscles and bones.”
The Anatomage Table will be used in classes like Future Healthcare Heroes, where students will learn what it’s like to care for patients, and Medical Detectives, where students will work to diagnose medical conditions based on clues. Other classes under the health sciences exploratory pathway are sports medicine and anatomy.
At the ribbon-cutting on Sept. 12, students dressed in lab coats with badges resembling those worn by health care workers. The badges were crafted at McKinley using a laser cutter, printer and stickers.
Karla Meijia, 14, an eighth-grader, and Morgan Brown, 12, a seventh-grader, displayed lungs from someone who smoked and lungs of a pig to show the difference in lung health.
Morgan said she was interested in the health sciences pathway because she wanted to learn more about how smoking and vaping affects the body and lungs.
While they’re not sure what exactly they will be learning in their health sciences classes this year, Karla and Morgan agreed that it will be fun.
“It’s a place where students will take what they learn in the classroom and connect it to real world experiences, practice hands-on skills, career pathways, and discover new possibilities for their future,” McKinley Principal Joslin Hanna said ahead of the ribbon-cutting. “We’ve been in school 12 days. They’re guiding all our demonstrations, stepping up as leaders and showing what learning looks like when curiosity meets opportunity.”
Tawana Grover, superintendent of the Cedar Rapids Community School District, said the Med Lab is a “launching pad for dreams.”
Classes in the health sciences exploratory pathway are just a few of the 45 electives offered at McKinley that “open the door for our students to explore learning in new and exciting ways,” Grover said, inviting families — especially those with prospective students — to tour the “incredible gem” that is the school.
Cedar Rapids school board president and former biology teacher Cindy Garlock said the Med Lab will create “’aha’ moments that spark curiosity and inspire futures.”
“I see a generation that has the chance to explore science in a way that many of us could only dream of when we were their age, and I know that this is just the beginning for them,” Garlock said.
Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com
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