Welcome to The Inoculation Project! This week, we're trying to help teachers in Nebraska and Wisconsin assemble materials for students to do hands-on science. This is part of our ongoing effort to help fund science and math projects in red-state public schools in low-income neighborhoods.
As always, our conduit is DonorsChoose.org, an organization founded in 2000 and highly rated by both Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau. If you’re short on cash, don’t worry — we’re glad to see you anyway! And your comments and shares are a good free way to help.
Let’s help this teacher in Nebraska share her enthusiasm for aquaponics with her students.
THIS WEEK’S MAIN PROJECT
Resources: My students need an aquaponics tank to take their biology learning to the next level!
School Poverty Level: More than three-quarters of students from low-income households
Location: Gilder Elementary School, Bellevue, Nebraska
Total: $173.62
Still Needed: $98.62 Completed! Please consider long-term project below.
Expires: August 16, 2017
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. Schenkelberg:
My Students: My students come from a variety of cultural backgrounds at a school where over 90% students qualify for free and reduced price lunch. Families come from all over the world, and kids come to class in various states of readiness to learn. All want to learn, and love to learn. Brain research shows that students learn best when their minds, bodies, and senses are immersed in the curriculum. I strive to support strong and struggling learners and everyone in between, and I believe this project will help me achieve this goal!
My Project: The first time I saw an aquaponics tank in action was at Disney World. I was amazed. The waste from the fish helps the plants and the growth of the plants helps the fish? What an amazing way to farm! When I got home from my trip, I immediately took up gardening and wanted to be as scientific as possible about it. The effects of that learning opportunity changed my life.
Biology: ecosystems, symbiosis- an aquaponics tank shows all of these topics and more in action in an irresistibly engaging way.
This is the most scientific class pet you could possibly get! I want my students to be as fired up as I am about how organisms on Earth live and thrive harmoniously.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
For our long-term project, let’s take advantage of a matching offer from Herb Kohl Philanthropies to help senior biology students in Wisconsin.
LONG-TERM PROJECT
Resources: My students need an incubator to support independent research projects exploring bacteria, seed germination, cellular processes, and more!
School Poverty Level: More than three-quarters of students from low-income households
Location: Rufus King International High School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Total: $586.24 (Donations to this project are now being matched, thanks to support from Herb Kohl Philanthropies.)
Still Needed: $546.24 $391.82 ($196 from us)
Expires: September 15, 2017
Teacher’s Comments from Ms. Twanow:
My Students: Each fall, my classroom fills to the brim with plant pots, worm bins, fish tanks, petri dishes and more as my students plan and carry out independent research projects.
I teach a talented and awesomely diverse group of senior biology students.
Many of them are preparing for the International Baccalaureate exams at the end of the school year, for which they can earn undergraduate credit, and are also busy with sports, service work, college applications, and after-school jobs. Along the way we take on challenging science content and conduct college-level lab investigations.
My Project: Ideally, the sky is the limit for my senior biology students' independent research projects! But sometimes, our classroom supplies impose limits. While many student scientists are intrigued by culturing bacteria or studying the effect of temperature on seed germination and cell metabolism, our finite incubator space prevents some students from exploring these ideas.
A classroom incubator will support multiple students' unique investigations, and open up new possibilities for senior research projects.
Incubator space will help my students pursue authentic science through their independent investigations. With access to this needed science equipment, more students will be able to answer the biological questions that intrigue them through experimentation and analysis.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Both of last week’s projects have already been completed with the assistance of matching offers. Students on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota will receive Fire tablets, and students in Kansas will receive a seismograph model. Thank you to all our donors.
Founded in 2009, The Inoculation Project is an effort to combat the anti-science push in conservative America by providing direct funding to science and math projects in traditionally red-state classrooms and libraries. Our conduit is DonorsChoose.org, an organization that allows you to contribute to specific, vetted projects in public schools, resulting in tremendous and immediate impacts from small-dollar donations. Here’s an introductory video about DonorsChoose featuring Michelle Obama and Stephen Colbert.
Each Sunday morning, we focus on helping to fund one or two science and math projects in red states, preferably in neighborhood public schools where half or more of students are from low-income households. We welcome everyone who shares our interest — no money is required! Feel free to post a video, or just tell us how your weather is.
Finally, here’s our list of successfully funded projects — our series total is 576! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.