This week, we’re helping a Houston 5th-grade robotics class to get a Lego Mindstorms expansion set so they have enough parts for everyone, and a South Carolina kindergarten to get some “Kinetic Sand” they can play and learn with. We hope that readers who support quality public school education will help 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.
So: neither of our projects has its own matching funds this week, so promo codes that provide matching can be applied if you have them! The one we had last week has run out of money. If someone’s got new information to share, tell us in the comments and I’ll put it up here.
This Houston teacher’s 5th grade robotics class needs more parts!
MAIN PROJECT
Resources: Help me give my students the expansion set they need to continue to problem solve when working on robotic missions.
Economic need: More than half of students from low‑income households
Location: Dr Shirley J Williamson Elementary School, Houston, Texas
Total: $184.24
Still Needed: $184.24 Completed! Thank you! Please see next project.
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. Coleman:
My Students: I serve a student population that is widely diverse, while made up of mostly minorities. We are an elementary school that serves many different minority populations. I have English language learners from a variety of different cultural backgrounds. However, the common thread through all of our students is that they want to learn and want to achieve. They are adventurous and engaged in the learning process.
We do serve a community that was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey.
Many of our families were displaced. Although it's been a year now, some are just now returning to their homes. The rebuilding process has been slow, especially for those who lost everything.
My students are awesome kids and deserve the same opportunities as all other students. This would indeed benefit them in many ways.
My Project: My robotics students are driven to accomplish the tasks and missions set before them. They are strengthening their problem solving skills and could use the expansion kits to offer them more building options.
The expansion kits will give them more parts to use as they test different prototypes in search of the best option to achieve their tasks.
Currently they are borrowing from the other team’s robot kit. This puts that team at a disadvantage in not having all of their pieces available if needed. Our robotic builders are very creative and work hard to engineer a design that can efficiently accomplish the task.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
The product “Kinetic Sand” is made of sand coated with silicone oil, which causes it to act something like wet sand without being wet. My nephews had great fun with it when they were younger. This South Carolina kindergarten will find endless ways to use it.
LONG-TERM PROJECT
Resources: Help me give my students Kinetic Sand to they can have STEM experiences while having fun.
Economic need: More than half of students from low‑income households
Location: Carver Elementary School, Florence, South Carolina
Total: $204.86
Still Needed: $204.86 Completed! Thank you! See you next Sunday!
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. Ward:
My Students: I teach at a high poverty school full of energetic, eager-to-learn students. They come to Kindergarten on a variety of levels and from a variety of backgrounds. They all want to be successful.
The best part about Kindergarten is they can have fun with just about any lesson.
It is my job to see to it that school can be a fun place even while they are learning. We make every day special for everyone by having fun while becoming successful learners.
My Project: Remember when you visited a beach and how much fun you had playing in the sand. This sand will allow my students to have that fun while learning different skills. Kinetic Sand can be molded into numbers, sight words, letters, and can also be used to design and create different objects. The things you can do with it are endless.
Kinetic Sand allows the students hands on sensory experiences that will promote learning while having fun.
The texture of this sand is unique in that it can be molded into objects but can also slip through their fingers. Students beg to use this in my class. Please help me get some for my students.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
[Interestingly, there’s a whole series of these videos. I picked this one because it gives a pretty comprehensive idea of the properties of the sand, but if you are among those who find the video strangely soothing, by all means, go to this YouTube group’s page. You can see and hear colorful kinetic sand creations get sliced, diced, squashed, shredded, peeled, scooped, poked, pinked, and whatever else they can think of.]
Last week, both our projects were completed, thanks in large part to our community here!
Mrs. Harris’s Oklahoma kindergarten will be playing interactive math games shown on the white board in their classroom, to help them gain the basic skills they need. The project was Smart Math for Smart Kids.
She writes: I am beyond grateful for your gift. The students of Epperly Heights will be able to use these materials for many years to come to grow a passion for math. Your gift is a huge step towards our goal of ensuring that every student has the same opportunities for growth and learning.
Ms. Hughes’s urban Georgia middle school will receive two compact composting bins that her students can use to compost lunchroom food scraps for the school garden. The project was Going Green With Garden Gold.
She writes: Thank you so very much for your donations to this project! I am really looking forward to using these new school yard compost containers. They are attractive, take up very little ground space, and appear to be very easy to use.
Composting will teach my students that waste can be turned into black gold and grow beautiful and healthy edibles at our school. I can't wait to send you photos of these school yard compost containers in action!
Our Dollars at Work
Back in January, Mrs. McFarland wanted the rural Arkansas middle-school students in her computer class to be able to read Hidden Figures. She needed copies for all the kids, and we were able to help with that. The project was Locating the Hidden Figures in My Classroom! (More photos at the link.)
It is with great gratitude and appreciation that I submit this impact letter to you for your support of my classroom and the education of my students. It has been a new and exciting adventure bringing novels into my middle school computer science classroom. Having access to literature that highlights the contributions of women and minorities in STEM has empowered my students to discover the "hidden figure" inside of them.
In education we often say our students cannot be what they cannot see. This novel has enabled my students to see new possibilities in their world. Students were excited to discover that human "computers" came from Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College, now a part of the University of Arkansas system. Sometimes students from rural schools do not realize that there are individuals from similar backgrounds who have contributed greatly to our world. It has also shown my students the evolution of computer science and coding along with the importance of math, not just within NASA, but everyday life.
As a teacher it was exciting to see both my female and male students eager to learn about the contributions of women and minorities in our history and space program. I know my students have been inspired and their horizons broadened, and that they will make amazing contributions to our world.
Again, thank you for your donation.
Founded in 2009, The Inoculation Project combats the anti-science push in conservative America by funding science and math projects in 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 science or math projects, 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 739! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.org.