Little Rock Central High opens new science building

Little Rock Central High School students, teachers and alumni are welcoming the school’s first major expansion in more than half a century.

Officials held a ribbon cutting Monday at the school’s new 67,000 square foot science building. Architect and Central alum Sarah Bennings with Polk Stanley Wilcox said the building’s façade matches the iconic tan brick of the school’s historic main building.

“Inside you will see state-of-the-art physics, biology and chemistry labs. The building has two environmental science classrooms and a horticulture lab for plant science,” Bennings said. “There’s also a robotics lab maker space that opens onto a rooftop patio… and the jewel of the building is the 200-seat lecture hall for multi-class instruction, testing and teacher training.”

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The new science building at Little Rock Central High School as seen on Aug. 18, 2025

Daniel Breen / Little Rock Public Radio

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The new science building at Little Rock Central High School as seen on Aug. 18, 2025

Daniel Breen / Little Rock Public Radio

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The new science building at Little Rock Central High School as seen on Aug. 18, 2025

Daniel Breen / Little Rock Public Radio

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The new science building at Little Rock Central High School as seen on Aug. 18, 2025

Daniel Breen / Little Rock Public Radio

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The new science building at Little Rock Central High School as seen on Aug. 18, 2025

Daniel Breen / Little Rock Public Radio

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The new science building at Little Rock Central High School as seen on Aug. 18, 2025

Daniel Breen / Little Rock Public Radio

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The new science building at Little Rock Central High School as seen on Aug. 18, 2025

Daniel Breen / Little Rock Public Radio

The new building replaces a series of portable classrooms which had been on campus for the past quarter-century. Central High Principal Nancy Rousseau says it’s the realization of one of her longest-standing priorities.

“For years, our award-winning science students – who have earned recognition locally, regionally and internationally – have conducted all their groundbreaking work in temporary spaces that are old, old, old,” Rousseau said. “They proved that talent and determination know no limits, and now they will have great laboratories, technology-rich classrooms and collaborative areas worthy of their skills and ambitions.”

The science building, along with a new field house, is the first major expansion and renovation of Little Rock Central High School in more than 50 years. A new bench-lined sidewalk between the science building and field house is dubbed the “Tiger Trail” in honor of the school’s mascot.

The combined science building and field house project cost roughly $60 million, financed in part by a debt extension approved by Little Rock voters in 2021.

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