This week, we’re helping a Nevada high school class get microscopes and slides, and a Phoenix fifth grade do some gardening with hydroponics. 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, math, and literacy projects for public schools in low-income neighborhoods. As always, our conduit is DonorsChoose, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that facilitates tax-deductible donations to specific, vetted projects in public schools.
We have a new project #2 today, as last week’s #2 moves up here to the #1 spot!
Ms. Rose teaches high school students with learning disabilities, in a city just south of Las Vegas. She needs microscopes and prepared slides that will give her class the tools to understand the material.
PROJECT #1
Resources: Help me give my students hands on STEM learning experiences that turn curiosity into confidence—microscopes, models, and real hands-on discovery.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Liberty High School, Henderson, Nevada
Total: $417.49
Still Needed: $138.38 $27.20
Project description by Ms. Rose: My SLD high school students are curious, capable learners who thrive when science is hands-on and visual. This project will fund microscopes and core lab supplies so students can observe cells, microbes, and materials up close while practicing real data skills. With the right tools, abstract biology and STEM concepts become concrete—and confidence grows.
My students receive specialized academic support and use accommodations like visuals, structured steps, and alternative response options.
They work hard, but reading level and fine-motor demands can block access to labs. When we provide tactile materials, clear procedures, and tools they can actually handle, they show what they know and love doing it.
What We’re Requesting
3 Student Compound Microscopes (coarse/fine focus, LED, 40x–400x)
Prepared Slide Sets (cells, tissues, microorganisms) (2 class sets
How We’ll Use These Materials
Microscope “Driver’s License”: students learn parts, focusing, and safety with a 10-minute checklist.
Cells & Tissues: onion epidermis and cheek cells with stains sketch, label, compare plant vs. animal.
Micro-Worlds: prepared slides and pond water identify moving vs. non-living particles, practice data tables.
STEM Skills: measure, mix, and record with cylinders, scales, and pH strips; build graphs from observations.
Access Supports: digital microscope to project a live image for modeling; visual timers and clipboards to chunk steps.
Why This Matters
Seeing is understanding. When students can see cell walls, nuclei, and living motion, vocabulary becomes real and motivation spikes. For learners who need multiple ways to access content, microscopes and visual labs remove barriers without lowering standards. These tools let students practice observation, measurement, and explanation—the heart of science.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Looking at the unexpected microbial community found in kombucha.
Our new project is quite ambitious, but what else is new? ;)
Mr. Scheepstra teaches fifth grade in Phoenix. He’s hoping to bring hydroponic gardening into his classroom.
PROJECT #2
Resources: Help me give my students a hands-on hydroponics growing system so they can explore plant science, sustainability, and healthy eating through real-world, interactive learning.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Esperanza Elementary School, Phoenix, Arizona
Total: $955.55
Still Needed: $455.55 $366.14
Project description by Mr. Scheepstra: My students are naturally curious and love asking questions about how the world works. They’re hands-on learners who thrive when they can explore, experiment, and see real results from their efforts. What I love most is their excitement when they make discoveries—big or small—and their willingness to collaborate and problem-solve together.
This project brings the wonder of science, sustainability, and real-world learning right into our classroom.
A hydroponics growing system will give my students the chance to study plant life cycles, ecosystems, and nutrition in an interactive, meaningful way—without the need for soil or a garden. They'll get to observe growth, measure data, make predictions, and learn about innovative farming techniques that connect directly to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts. It’s a powerful way to turn curiosity into understanding and build lifelong learning skills.
With your support, my students will grow more than just plants—they’ll grow confidence, critical thinking, and a deeper connection to the world around them.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
In this experiment sponsored by the Wall Street Journal, an expert gardener in Houston is supplied with a commercially available hydroponic setup (a much larger one than those requested in this project), and asked to compare growing the same plants in it and in his outdoor garden.
Our project #1 from last week was completed in its first week, with help from a private foundation that dropped by and covered the remaining amount needed!
Project #1, Basic School Supplies: Ms. Soltys’ first grade class in Aurora, Colorado needed a restock on some really basic supplies — crayons, scissors, markers, and she couldn’t cover it all herself.
She writes: THANK YOU for helping us get basic school supplies for our classroom! These supplies will be used as soon as we get them in our classroom! We are looking to use the red and green crayons for our OG writing block. Our left handed friends will be so excited for their new scissors to help them every day!
Thank you for your support! We can't wait to share our awesome materials with you! ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
| DonorsChoose has developed the designation Equity Focus Schools to describe some schools that submit projects. They meet two criteria: at least 50% of students are Black, Latinx, Native American, Pacific Islander, or multiracial, and at least 50% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch, the standard measure for school economic need. You can read more at the link about their efforts to address the longstanding inequity in education. |
Founded in 2009, The Inoculation Project seeks to fund science, math, and literacy projects in public school classrooms and libraries. Our conduit is DonorsChoose, 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 projects 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 1193! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.
