This week, our projects will bring K’Nex building kits to a Miami school hosting many kids who have relocated from Puerto Rico, and a stream table to a West Virginia school where erosion is not just academic, but a real local problem. We hope that readers who support quality public school education will help these teachers and students by sharing or supporting our featured projects.
The Inoculation Project is an ongoing, volunteer effort to crowdfund science and math projects for red-state public schools in low-income neighborhoods. As always, our conduit is DonorsChoose.org, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that facilitates tax-deductible donations to specific, vetted projects in public schools.
Our main project still has a 3x match in place from the DonorsChoose.org Community: “Our community is proud to support students displaced by Hurricane Maria so that they have the resources and supplies they need to start fresh at a new school.” It’s far enough along that I hope we can complete it before the matching funds run out!
MAIN PROJECT
Resources: My students need K'Nex Kit Maker activities to enjoy their time at recess.
Economic need: Nearly all students from low‑income households
Location: Eneida Massas Hartner Elementary School, Miami, Florida
Total: $432.59 (3x match for displaced Puerto Rican students)
Still Needed: $363.06 Completed! Thanks! Please see project below.
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. Rodriguez:
My Students: My students experience difficulties both academically and socially. Their problems relate to their home situations, financial stability, poor parental involvement and lack of motivation. This transfers negatively into their learning. As a teacher in a low-income/high-poverty school district, I would like my students to experience learning in an enjoyable environment. I want to provide activities where they would be engaged and thrilled and get the chance to change their negative feelings of learning into positive ones.
My students need to believe in themselves, that they can be creative thinkers and assets to the community.
Therefore, these activities/projects will give them the chance to do so.
My Project: My new students who were displaced due to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico are really settling in with the other students. They have met new friends and are following through smoothly with the routine of the academics and expectations.
Now that my displaced students from Puerto Rico are permanent members of my class family, I want their recess time to be fun and exciting.
This is the reason why I am asking for the K'nex activities. I want all my students after a long, hard day of work to sit and enjoy a fun time at recess.
These activities will not only bring enjoyment, but my students will be still learning while having fun. Please help me to bring a smile to my students' faces.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Okay, this is awesome:
Our new long-term project also has a matching offer: Donations to this project are now being matched, thanks to support from UPS Foundation. Since 2008, the UPS Foundation has provided more than $1.7 million in grants to support a variety of environmental programs and organizations worldwide. These grants supported tree planting, conservation efforts, youth education, and volunteerism. The Foundation is excited to help fund projects in rural communities.
LONG-TERM PROJECT
Resources: My students need plastic bins and soils to create stream tables and perform hands on experimentation to examine the effects of water erosion on earth samples.
Economic need: Half of students from low‑income households
Location: Bradley Elementary School, Mount Hope, West Virginia
Total: $391.87 (matching offer from UPS Foundation)
Still Needed: $391.87 Completed! Thank you!! We’ll be back next week!
Teacher’s Comments from Ms. Shriver:
My Students: My classroom is home to an interactive diverse group of 70 students who rotate into my class for an hour and a half of math and science instruction. My students come from a rural area and we are a school that is considered "low socio-economic".
What we are high in is curiosity, love for one another and excitement for learning.
My kids are interested, they want to learn! They all want to be involved in their learning, and work together toward a common goal.
We live in Southern WV, a proud but rural area. My students live here in our beautiful state with glorious mountains and wooded areas covering highly sought after Natural Resources. Land clearing and mining are common here, but an environmental risk for our beautiful state.
My Project: My students will discover the effect of erosion on WV before/after land clearing through this unit. I have students who may become Civil Engineers, Environmentalists, or Legislators. Erosion as an environmental issue is important to share with my WV students, due to the mountain top removal and clearcutting occurring here today.
This Unit will really STEAM, using skills in every aspect of the acronym Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics!
We begin with an analysis of soil components (using tiny paper cups to hold the samples). The stream tables are created in plastic bins with a drain hole, by adding 4 different types of soils. Students will control the flow of water over the soil with plastic cups with various holes or with sprinkler heads that simulate rain. They will record the amounts of wash out by marking soil levels with wipe-able markers on the outside of the bin. The plastic spreaders are used to mix the soils and create a controlled surface. The rubber stoppers are key to keeping the water runoff in the bin after the experiment for storage. After the experiments are conducted on bare dirt we will grow rye seed on the sample and conduct experiments comparing the results. The final component of the unit, is a series of tests on soils from WV and all over the world. Dirt is dirty business, so we need gloves to protect our skin when we mix the samples, especially when mixed with chemicals. As the students observe their results they will draw diagrams detailed with colored pencil artwork and written text. They will learn STEAM skills and understand how to help keep WV the beautiful state it is now for generations.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Last week, we had an opportunity to get 3x matching funds for projects helping children from Puerto Rico who are now hurricane refugees on the mainland. With this matching in place, we were able to help complete three such projects, plus the rest of our long-term project.
In Hurricane Maria Won't Stop Our Hands-On Learning Experience!, an Orlando elementary class will get educational games and headphones. Ms. Delgado writes: I cannot wait until tomorrow morning to tell my students about the generosity and kindness that has been shown towards our project!
The Pressure Is On! will bring weather instruments to a Tampa elementary class, to help them understand such concepts as barometric pressure. Mrs. Pipp writes: This is such an advantage for my students and our school, especially those that don't speak English. I can't wait to use the new science equipment during our science labs.
A variety of games, puzzles, and other learning aids will be coming to a Kissimmee (FL) second grade, thanks to Engagement in the Math Classroom. Ms. Beachy writes: I am very excited to get to use the new math resources, materials, games, and puzzles in my classroom. I know they will enhance our learning so much.
Outside of the matching offer, Seeing In the Dark! will bring a small-town West Virginia middle school UV lights so they can do a variety of science labs. Mrs. McDaniel writes: Without the support of donors like you, there is no way we could do what we do to help these students learn!
Our Dollars at Work
On Christmas Eve, we put up a grab-bag of projects with relatively small amounts remaining, and saw them all completed. One of these was If I Can See It Modeled, Then I'll Remember It, a project to bring models of human organs to Mrs. Zepeda’s Houston-area 7th grade class of English-language learners. (More photos at the link.)
From the moment my students saw the boxes being delivered into our classroom their faces lit up with glee for they knew that our models were here. Students since then have been able to interact with the anatomy model in order to understand just how all organs interact with one another and why they are placed in a certain location. Additionally, students have begun to create their own method of studying by timing one another to see just how well they know all of the body systems by classifying the organs within their respective system; which is something I had not thought of myself.
Additionally, students are now better able to interact with practice sheets using the expo markers and cleaners. These tools have come in handy for after school tutorials as well. My students were beyond delighted to have a sharpener that actually worked and that we did not have to maneuver to get it going.
All in all, my students and I are very much grateful to this wonderful donation that will only be used to enhance their learning experience.
Founded in 2009, The Inoculation Project combats the anti-science push in conservative America by funding science and math projects in traditionally red-state classrooms and libraries. Our conduit is DonorsChoose.org, a crowdfunding charity founded in 2000 and highly rated by both Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau.
Every Sunday, we focus on helping to fund two science or math projects in red states, preferably in neighborhood public schools where the overwhelming majority of students come from low-income households. We welcome everyone who supports public school education — no money is required!
Finally, here’s our list of successfully funded projects — our series total is 638! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.org.