A brand new air quality monitoring station at the Libby Booth Elementary School is up and running, and is situated right at the edge of the playground. The school district hopes to add the air quality monitoring program into the STEM curriculum.

The station is more than just a learning experience -- they packed a lot of technology into the building. Some of which comes all the way from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The station is part of an intricate network that continually monitors and collects the area's air quality data for a variety of purposes, including public safety.

"We are required to monitor for a number of these pollutants so that we can demonstrate whether we are meeting the health base air quality standards or if we have an air quality problem that could be impacting public health,” said District Health Officer Kevin Dick with the Washoe County Health District.

The station is one of seven in Washoe County that is designed to track more than 15 air quality parameters. Those include everything from ozone to carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and even particulate matters like dust, soot and even un-burned fuel. Unlike the other stations in town, this air quality station is equipped with sensors and scanners directly from the EPA.

"It's an Encore Station, one of 80 air quality monitoring stations like this that EPA supports across the country," said Kevin Dick.

What makes this specific station so unique is that it’s one of three in the country, measuring a specific particulate that happens quite a lot during fire season.

“It will help us better understand the chemistry of wildfires, how those chemicals in the fires react in the atmosphere as they are transported here, and the composition of the smoke in an urban environment to better understand the health impacts from that smoke might be," said Kevin Dick.

Being so close to Libby Booth Elementary, the school district plans to use the station as a learning example and a jumping off point for students.

"We can dive deeper into this global warming phenomenon little bit, and let the kids decipher for themselves on how important it is to take care of our air," said Libby Booth Elementary School’s principal Megan Waugh. “There's lasers on top of the building that are shooting 30,000 feet into the air to measure the air quality, and that is going to be so amazing for these kids to learn about.”

The monitoring station is now up and running and officials plan to give tours to students to give them a more hands on experience.