...while SWR students take matters into their own hands
By NICOLE COTRONEO

SHOREHAM--Although inventor, engineer and scientist Nikola Tesla died 50 years ago, he has proponents even today.

Shoreham-Wading River High School seniors Chris Priedemann and Henry Perez have taken up the crusade to preserve his Wardenclyffe laboratory, which stands just west of their school. The students have been working to muster community support with the Friends of Science East, an organization dedicated to preserving the laboratory as a museum.

After studying the history of the site and the measures that have been taken to clean the contaminated property, Chris and Henry are out to educate the public. Growing up in Shoreham, "I was aware of the property," Chris recalled. "I knew of the contamination and I knew it was once owned by Nikola Tesla. But I never knew what was being done.

"Not many people really know what [the property] is," he added. "They think it's still a photo site and there's nothing important behind that fence."

"It's sort of upsetting to see it sitting there going to waste," Henry said of the site.

Chris and Henry got to work constructing a poster board filled with information on the history and accomplishments of Tesla and the vision they share with the Friends of Science East and other organizations, including the Friends of Long Island's Wireless History.

The vision is to "rehabilitate [Wardenclyffe lab] into a prominent attraction for the North Shore of Long Island," according to the students. The attraction would include a Tesla exhibit containing memorabilia, an "exploratorium" to inspire area youth to get involved in science, a gift shop, a cafeteria, scientific research space and possibly some space for small businesses.

The exploratorium is intended to fill the hole left by the Science Museum once housed in Shoreham-Wading River High School, which relocated to Riverhead due to lack of space. "It was a big disappointment for students here," said Chris, who intends to study chemistry in college. "It's something I would like to see come back to the community."

Excited that "what [the Friends of Science East] wanted was what we wanted all along," Chris said he and Henry set out with their poster board presentation to gain "the unanimous support of the community."

They were heartened by their first stop, the April 16 meeting of the Shoreham Civic Organization. "They were really open and wanted to support us," said Chris.

He and Henry obtained members' signatures pledging support, and now plan to meet with the Wading River Civic Association and the Rocky Point Historical Society to do the same.

"Henry and I are pretty confident talking with people," Chris noted. "The more people we can talk to the better, and if that takes us in front of Town Board we're more than willing."

As community support grows, the students are also confident their cause will not die when they head off to college in the fall. "With all the people working for this goal, I believe it's very achievable," Chris said. "Maybe some other students that have the same interest as we do will pick [the project] up."

"It's a much sought-after goal," Henry noted. "It's not just two high school students."

(Photo) Henry Perez (left) and Chris Priedemann of Shoreham-Wading River High School's Community Relations class.
Sun photo by Nicole Cotroneo

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