Walking back into a science lab after summer break can feel a little overwhelming. Did I really go home for the summer and leave my lab like this?
By the time I walked back into my lab in August, it never looked quite the way I had left it. It was dusty, furniture and equipment had been moved during the summer floor waxing, and things had been piled on top of the lab tables. I thought I had left the lab in pretty good shape in May, but by August it was definitely looking a little rough.
There were so many chores that needed to be done that it was hard to know where to begin. I'm a list person, so the first thing I always did was make a checklist of everything I wanted to accomplish. In this blog post, I'm sharing that same checklist of tasks I completed before students returned to the classroom each fall.
Some of these jobs only take a few minutes. Others can take an afternoon. But taking care of them before students arrived made the first few weeks of school run much more smoothly.
Whether you're setting up your first science classroom or your twentieth, here's the exact checklist I used to get my lab ready every fall.
The Ultimate Back-to-School Science Lab Checklist
1. Assess the "Summer Damage"
The first thing I always did was simply walk through the room and look at everything with fresh eyes. During the summer, classrooms collect dust, equipment gets moved by custodians, and things that used to sit on the floor, such as lab stools, are piled on top of the lab tables while the floors are being waxed. Also, many science teachers share a common storeroom. Multiple teachers sharing one storeroom usually means one thing: a messy storeroom!
Before worrying about lesson plans or decorating, I wanted the laboratory itself functioning efficiently again.
☐ Organize your science storeroom☐ Label storage bins and supply containers☐ Organize student lab stations☐ Wash and organize lab aprons☐ Notify the custodian about repairs only maintenance can complete
☐ Check your chemical storage area
Organize Your Science Storeroom
If your science storeroom looks anything like mine did after a busy school year, don't feel bad. Mine usually became the dumping ground for equipment, boxes, extra supplies, and unfinished projects by May.
August was my chance to reset everything. I recycled empty boxes, threw away broken equipment, grouped similar materials together, and made sure I could actually find what I needed.
Getting organized before school started saved me countless trips into the storeroom while students waited for supplies during lab activities.
Label Storage Bins
One of the best organizational systems I ever created was labeling storage bins.
Every common supply had its own labeled container. Students quickly learned where to find equipment and, even more importantly, where to return it when class ended.
Organize Student Lab Stations
Every student lab station should begin the year exactly the same.
I checked each cabinet to make sure it contained the basic equipment students would need throughout the year, including a Bunsen burner, burner hose, test tube rack, and any other permanent supplies assigned to that station.
Wash and Organize Lab Aprons
My classroom aprons always needed attention after sitting all summer. This was a chore that I rarely completed at the end of the previous school year.
I washed them, inspected every tie and strap, replaced damaged aprons, and rehung everything by size. Students could quickly grab one that fit, and I didn't have to sort through tangled aprons during class.
Check Your Chemical Storage Area
Make Sure Every Container Is Labeled: One thing I always checked was that every chemical container had a readable label. Over time, labels can peel off, become stained, or fade until they're difficult to read. If I found a bottle with a damaged or missing label, I replaced it immediately rather than guessing what was inside later. A few minutes spent checking labels in August helped prevent confusion and made the chemical storeroom much safer throughout the school year.
Dispose of Expired or Unknown Chemicals: While I was checking my inventory, I also looked for chemicals that were expired, no longer needed, or couldn't be positively identified. Those containers were set aside and disposed of according to my school's safety procedures. If you have any questions about a chemical, don't keep it "just in case." It's much better to handle the issue before students return than to discover a potential safety problem during the school year.
Once my laboratory was organized, I turned my attention to the most important part of preparing for a new school year ... the lab safety equipment.
Safety equipment quietly sits in the background all year long. We hope we never need to use it, but if an emergency happens, everything has to work exactly as it should. That's why I always inspected every piece of emergency equipment before students ever entered the lab.
☐ Flush and clean the eyewash station☐ Check the safety shower☐ Inspect fire extinguishers☐ Inspect fire blankets☐ Locate and test the master gas and electrical shutoff controls☐ Inspect gas outlets at each student station☐ Replace expired first aid supplies☐ Clean the fume hood☐ Clean and sanitize safety goggles☐ Plan your lab safety instruction unit
Never assume safety equipment is ready simply because it was working in May. A few minutes spent inspecting it in August can make a tremendous difference if an emergency ever occurs.
Flush the Eyewash Station
The eyewash station was always one of my first stops. Even though it wasn't used very often, dust and mineral deposits accumulated over the summer. My eyewash station always needed a thorough cleaning after sitting unused. Before students returned, I flushed the lines, cleaned the basin, and made sure the water flowed properly. Once it was flushed, cleaned, and tested, I knew it would be ready if a student ever needed it.
Inspect Fire Safety Equipment
Next came the fire safety equipment. I checked every fire extinguisher to make sure it was properly charged, inspected, and easy to reach. I also inspected the fire blanket and made sure nothing had been stacked in front of it during the summer. Thankfully, I rarely needed a fire extinguisher during my teaching career. But every August I checked it anyway because if the day ever came that I needed it, there wouldn't be time to discover a problem.
Don't Forget the Fume Hood
If your classroom has a chemical fume hood, don't overlook it during your back-to-school preparations. Remove anything that has been stored inside, wipe down the work surface, make sure the sash operates smoothly, and verify that the ventilation system is functioning properly according to your district's procedures. A fume hood is designed to protect you and your students. It is not intended to become another storage cabinet!
Wash and Sanitize Safety Goggles
Every August, my goggle cabinet looked about like this. Every student who enters your laboratory deserves clean safety equipment. Before your first lab, wash every pair of goggles, replace broken straps, inspect the lenses for scratches, and sanitize them before placing them back in the cabinet.
Teach Lab Safety Before the First Experiment
The final item on my safety checklist wasn't equipment. My final item was to review my lab safety unit. No matter how excited you may be to get students into the lab, it is imperative that you teach a unit on laboratory safety.
Students must learn how to use safety equipment, practice emergency procedures, review laboratory rules, and sign a laboratory safety contract before they ever pick up a beaker or test tube.
If you're looking for ready-to-use resources, these are three of my favorites.
3. Prepare Your Classroom
Once the safety equipment, chemicals, and student lab stations were checked, I turned my attention to the lab itself. This was the time to clean the spaces students would use every day.
☐ Clean lab tables and sinks☐ Check faucets and drains☐ Clean the demonstration area
I started with the lab tables and sinks because those areas get used constantly. I wiped down the surfaces, checked each sink, and made sure the drains were clear. A slow drain or leaky faucet is much easier to deal with before students are standing around waiting to begin an experiment.
I also cleaned and organized my demonstration area. If I was going to use that space during the first week of school, I wanted it clear, clean, and ready to go. It is hard to feel prepared when the first thing students see is a cluttered demonstration table.
Leave cleaning supplies where students can easily access them after labs. If you expect students to help clean their lab stations, make it easy for them to do it correctly. And don't forget to have plenty of paper towels on hand.
4. Prepare Technology
Technology may not be the first thing that comes to mind when preparing a science lab, but it can certainly derail a lesson if it is not working. Before students returned, I always checked the technology I knew I would need during the first week of school.
☐ Test your projector☐ Check your document camera☐ Log into classroom technology☐ Update Google Classroom or your LMS
I turned on the projector, checked the document camera, logged into the computer, and made sure everything connected the way it should. I also opened any files, slides, videos, or digital assignments I planned to use during the first few days of school.
If you use Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, or another learning management system, this is a good time to archive last year’s classes, create new ones, update links, and make sure students will be able to access what they need.
Open every digital file you plan to use during the first week. Broken links, missing videos, and files that will not load are much easier to fix before students are sitting in front of you.
5. One Last Walk-Through
Before I considered my lab ready for students, I did one final walk-through. This was not a quick glance from the doorway. I walked through the room as if I were a student entering the lab for the first time.
☐ Walk through your lab as if you were a student☐ Open every cabinet and drawer☐ Test sinks, faucets, and water supply☐ Test gas where appropriate☐ Make sure emergency equipment is accessible☐ Double-check supplies for your first lab
I opened cabinets and drawers, turned on faucets, checked the gas where appropriate, and made sure emergency equipment was not blocked. I also looked carefully at the flow of the room. Where would students put backpacks? Where would dirty glassware go? Where would students find goggles, aprons, and other safety equipment?
Finally, I double-checked the supplies for my first lab activity. If I could walk through the first lab in my mind and find everything I needed, I knew I was ready.
Do your final walk-through from a student’s point of view. If students will need to find something, clean something, dispose of something, or move through a certain area, make sure the procedure is obvious before the first lab begins.
Once you have worked through this checklist, take a deep breath. Your lab is ready.
There will always be more to do, but completing these steps helped me start the school year with confidence. My lab was clean, organized, safe, and ready for students. That made the first few weeks of school feel so much smoother.
Ready-to-Use Biology and Chemistry Lab Resources
Once my classroom was clean and organized, I wanted to make sure I had quality labs ready for students. Spending time preparing my classroom doesn't help much if I'm scrambling to create labs the night before I teach them.
Over the years, I created complete collections of biology and chemistry labs that I use throughout the school year. These activities are designed for high school science classrooms and include teacher guides, student handouts, answer keys, editable files, and digital options for many activities.
If you're looking for ready-to-use labs that require very little prep, these are the two collections I use in my own classroom.
The Biology Lab Bundle includes dozens of inquiry activities, traditional laboratory experiments, graphing activities, simulations, and review labs covering the entire high school biology curriculum. Everything is classroom tested and designed to get students actively engaged in biology while reinforcing important science concepts.
If you teach chemistry, the Chemistry Lab Bundle includes labs for measurement, density, chemical reactions, gas laws, acids and bases, solutions, stoichiometry, and many other chemistry topics. The activities are designed to be engaging, classroom tested, and easy to implement.
Before students ever light a Bunsen burner or pick up a beaker, they need a strong foundation in laboratory safety. My Lab Safety Bundle includes engaging activities, laboratory safety rules, equipment identification, safety scenarios, quizzes, tests, and other ready-to-use resources that help students learn how to work safely and confidently in the science lab. Everything is classroom tested and designed to make teaching lab safety easy during the first weeks of school.
Related Blog Posts
- Taking Students to the Laboratory: 15 Questions I Ask Before Every Science Lab
- Science Lab Safety Activities for the First Week of School
- How to Use Lab Stations in Your Science Classroom
Final Thoughts
Walking into your classroom in August can feel overwhelming, but you don't have to tackle everything at once. Work through the checklist one section at a time, and before long your lab will be clean, organized, safe, and ready for another year of hands-on science.
A little preparation before students arrive saves countless interruptions later. Instead of hunting for equipment, replacing missing supplies, or dealing with preventable safety issues, you'll be free to focus on helping your students experience the excitement of doing real science.
Once your free Back-to-School Science Lab Checklist is ready, print a copy and keep it with your lesson plans. Crossing off each task every August helps make sure nothing important gets overlooked.
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