Safety First! The Best Chemistry Demos Require A Shield
My students need a laboratory safety shield so they can safety watch all chemical reaction demonstrations.
FULLY FUNDED! Dr. Falin's classroom raised $564
This project is fully funded
My Students
"Are we going to blow anything up today?" That's what my students ask when they come to chemistry class. And, explosions are the forte of the chemistry teacher. But, I can't do the best of the chemistry demonstrations until I get a safety shield to protect the students.
I teach in a small rural school in West Virginia.
We have about 300 students in grades 9 through 12 and I teach chemistry and physics to 11th and 12th grade students in both professional and vocational tracks. The small size of our school, and the fact that most of our students have attended school together since beginning primary school, makes our student body a really cohesive group. There is a high rate of poverty, as is true in most of the state, but our school has consistently met annual yearly progress in recent years. We were named a Success School this year based on our achievement of academic growth. However, they deserve more and the inclusion of a more active learning model engages and excites students about science.
My Project
My students love hands-on activities and labs the most, but demonstrations come in a close second place. Demonstrations serve to both help explain or visualize a chemical process, such as a chemical reaction or light emission, but they also engage the students. So the result is more memorable and encourages them to want to find out how the demo worked. Right now I have to limit the types of demonstrations that I do to ones that are not likely to result in splatter or flying debris, which excludes a lot of the best ones. We don't have a fume hood, but if we had a laboratory shield then my students could safely watch a much greater range of demonstrations.
Donations to this project will improve my classroom by providing a much needed, and wanted, piece of safety equipment.
It will also open the world of chemistry to students in a way that will excite and engage them. My students love when we do demonstrations and this leads to great class discussions, interest in science and better learning.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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