Originally published 04/23/2019

For busy Harper students, it’s easy to miss the many hidden gems scattered throughout campus. This campus offers many cool features and we thought we’d put five of them on your radar.

1. The Observatory

If you are a Harper student you probably have seen the observatory located on the Northwest side of the campus. Have you ever wondered what it looks like inside? What it is used for? Prof. Bhasker Moorthy is one of the professors at Harper who knows all about it.

Moorthy says the observatory is 25 years old and one of the very few observatories in the area. The observatory is primarily used by the public and free of charge. It is closed during the months of December, January and February but is open the other nine months on every other Saturday evening.  Most of the viewing is done with mobile telescopes that are rolled out of doors. Astronomy faculty are usually nearby  for information and guidance.

There are plaques on the outside of the observatory that are built to represent a scale model of the distance between our planets and the sun, meant to give visitors a visceral understanding of the solar system.

Prof. Moorthy has taught astronomy at Harper for 12 years. He says his students do not utilize the observatory very often because classes are usually held during the day. On occasion he will initiate extra credit with the observatory in mind.

If you would like to see more of the observatory, take a lab class. Those are the students who utilize it most.

2. The Dental Hygiene Clinic

Harper’s Dental Hygiene Clinic offers a hands-on learning experience for students wishing to pursue a career as a dental hygienist. The clinic, built in 1968, is equipped with X-ray technology, as well as personal sterilization rooms. It’s essentially a student’s laboratory for the students enrolled in the Dental Hygiene career courses, as they are work firsthand with patients while their professional teachers watch overhead.

The clinic allows both students and members of the community to take advantage of the reduced prices for cleanings, sealants, fluoride treatments, gum exams, and more, as long as they’re willing to be the ‘test dummy’ for dental hygiene students to practice.

While it sounds scary to go under the light of a student dental hygienist, Nancy Andrews, a registered dental hygienist and Harper instructor, says there’s no reason to be worried.

Andrews assures that the students are trained and educated rigorously in their five-semester-long courses, before they undergo mannequin heads and work on their teeth. With only 36 students allowed to enroll in the program, it gives the teachers close oversight over each student.

Andrew explains that throughout the program, the work required for patients will get more difficult and skill-heavy for the students. Meaning, that when a student learns how to fix a new dental issue, a patient with that issue will be brought to them, so they can show off what they’ve learned.

“It caters to both the students’ skill sets, as well as the patients’ dental hygiene issue,” Nancy claims.

The prices vary for different dental issues, and it is recommended that visitors call for inquiries on procedures and pricing.

To make an appointment, you can call the clinic at 847.925.6534.

The Dental Clinic is housed in the Avante Center–Building X, Room 102.

3. The Massage Clinic

You better make your appointments soon because the Harper massage clinic fills up fast. Compared to an actual massage service, which can cost a minimum of $60, Harper charges $30 for students and faculty. For the general community the price is $40 and $35 for senior citizens.

The massages are done by students that are pursuing a certificate of completion in massage. Currently the massage clinic coordinator is Jeremy Miller.

The Massage clinic opened in 2009, and Mr. Miller says they have no problems getting guest in the door for massages. To be enrolled in the program students must be 18 years or older, have a diploma, and pass a criminal background check.

Typically the program lasts around three semesters, but can go longer if students prefer to have a lighter course load.  The classes are structured with having one lecture day, “where students learn different techniques to apply to patients,” Jeremy says. Then it is followed up by a lab day of actually doing the techniques.

Once students get into their second or even third semesters they can give hour-long massages to other students, faculty, and community members.

The Harper massage clinic  has a sheet of available appointment times posted right outside the clinic.  Massage clinic hours change each semester so it’s a good idea to monitor the link below.

Massage Clinic Spring 2019 Hours:

Mondays: 5:30 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

Tuesdays: 11:30 A.M. – 2:00 P.M.

Wednesdays: 11:30 A.M. – 2:00 P.M. & 5:30 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

Thursdays: 3:00 P.M. – 5:30 P.M.

Closed Fri, Sat, Sun

If you would like to make an appointment you can either call  847.925.2805 to set-up or cancel appointments, or you can sign-up on the online form here. 

The Massage clinic is located in the Avante Center–Building X, Room 105.

4. The Simulation Hospital

For students in the health sciences, Harper College provides a state of the art simulation hospital. The hospital is used as a learning tool by many health career programs including Nursing, Practical Nursing, Emergency Medical Services, Medical Office Administration, Dietetics, Radiologic Technology and Cardiac Technology.

“It was such a cool space to be in,” said Diana Tavares, a student at Harper College. “It’s a great way to get a taste of the real world.”

In February of 2010, Harper opened the simulation hospital which includes technology  used to train future medical professionals.

Some of the special features of the hospital include three examination rooms with Laerdal ALS manikins, an obstetrics room with a SimMom manikin, an emergency room including a SimMan3G manikin, and a pediatrics room that includes a SimJr manikin.  The manikins provide  hands-on training with realistic human-like training tools. The hospital also includes functioning patient monitors, oxygen delivery devices and videotaping and live streaming capabilities. The surgical rooms also include Accu-cheks for diabetic monitoring, crash carts for emergency resuscitation and an electronic medical records and medication management system.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, only 136 medical schools in the country had simulation hospitals in the 2013-2014 academic year.