Mr. R.E. Rick Reeves, Chair
Take a video tour of DeMatha's new Hanley Science Wing, opened fall 2011
Science is concerned with the general conditions, laws and order which are observed to regulate the physical phenomena of the universe. It is the goal of the Department of Sciences to assist its students in acquiring the necessary analytical tools by which contemporary science interprets, understands and explains the human experience of physical reality. This can only be achieved by being faithful to the rigid criteria of a scientific methodology currently employed by the scientific community.
At the same time, however, twentieth-century developments in scientific thought have brought about an outlook that sees the universe as no longer a simple mechanism that merely abbeys a rigid set of empirical laws. Although science in practice may seem to have limited itself only to describing the facts, it is the application of these “facts” that gives meaning to science.
The Department of Sciences becomes contiguous and integrative with the total Catholic education enterprise at DeMatha by striving to relate the sciences with a wide range of experiences within the school environment. This promotes the exposure of students to the larger dimensions of the human experience of which science is a component. The Department of Sciences participates in the school’s effort of building a Christian outlook on life with its commitment to Christian values for living in a world of conflicting views.
Each student is required to earn three credits in science to meet the minimum requirement for graduation (a credit in biology is required by the State of Maryland). It is the philosophy of the Department of Sciences that it is crucial that students be well prepared in the basics of science prior to their graduation. This belief dictates that a core curriculum comprised of a course in each of the following: biology, chemistry and physics is mandated. The program of studies may be adapted to meet the academic needs of the individual student upon the recommendation of the Department of Sciences. This strong foundation will serve to prepare our students for both their post-secondary studies as well as life in a time when an understanding of science is crucial. It is recommended that four credits of science be earned and the Department offers a variety of courses to meet this recommendation.
When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures were ranged in
columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams,
to add, divide and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where
he lectured with much applause
in the lecture room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
till rising and gliding out I wander'd
off by myself
In the mystical moist night air, and from time to time
Looked up in perfect silence at the stars.
Walt Whitman