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Mrs. Sharma from Santa Fe NM is requesting lab equipment through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

Building Bridges and Cars While Becoming Financially Literate! (Part 2)

Help me give my students mobile Makerspace materials to enhance a financial literacy lesson.

  • $599 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

Celebrate Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

Our school is an exceptional 7-12 grade public charter school. Our students come to us from all walks of life: free and reduced-priced lunch, English language learners, special education needs, and gifted student population.

My goal is to engage students in creative activities to foster a love for math, science, and engineering while being financially literate about decisions they make.

The students at my school have never had the opportunity to engage in activities in a STEAM Lab/ Makerspace setting. Our students are highly motivated and crave engaging opportunities outside of the classroom environment.

For the first time, our school has the necessary space and infrastructure to create a Makerspace. I would like to provide my students with the necessary materials and infrastructure to see themselves as future mathematicians, scientists, and engineers.

My Project

This proposal will provide my students with reusable and consumable materials to use for multiple projects over the span of several years. Our Makerspace will offer students the ability to "explore, play and be creative" while working on engineering projects and models. We also need storage and materials to move supplies to different locations and classrooms for mobile makerspace lessons. All this fun will give students the opportunity to explore careers in science, technology, and math.

My engineers will design and build model bridges and cars while working within a given budget.

Students will calculate the cost of a sample balsa wood bridge and brainstorm ways to reduce costs. They will then work in teams designing the cheapest bridge and the most cost-effective bridge. Students will learn the importance of being cost-effective while using a bridge-building simulator to evaluate the strength of their bridge. The project will culminate with a competition to evaluate the cheapest bridge and the strongest bridge with the lowest calculated cost per pound.

While the bridges use mostly consumable materials, the model vehicles students will create using reusable pieces from Teacher Geek and can be reused for several years. Students will be given the cost of each piece of material - hole plates, connectors, gears, angle brackets, etc. They will also need to take into account labor costs (time taken for construction), and tool rental costs. At the end,​ students will race their cars and evaluate how the cost of a car relates to its speed and efficiency.

Mrs. Sharma
Grades 6-8

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Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
Mac Sports Collapsible Outdoor Utility Wagon with Folding Table and Drink Holders, Gray • Amazon Business $69.99 1 $69.99
Vergo S300BT Model Industrial Folding Hand Truck Dolly, 275 lb Capacity, Silver • Amazon Business $69.00 1 $69.00
ccbetter Upgraded Mini Hot Melt Glue Gun with 30pcs Glue Sticks,Removable Anti-hot Cover Glue Gun Kit with Flexible Trigger for DIY Small Craft Projects & Sealing and Quick Daily Repairs 20-watt,Blue • Amazon Business $9.99 5 $49.95
Pitsco Lumberjack Cutting Board • Amazon Business $44.95 1 $44.95
Sterilite 28308002 3 Drawer Cart, White Frame with Clear Drawers and Black Casters, 2-Pack • Amazon Business $34.90 1 $34.90
Pacon Foam Board, 6 Assorted Colors, 20" x 30", 10 Sheets • Amazon Business $27.57 1 $27.57
Colored Masking Tape - 11 Pack of 1 inch x 60yd Extra Large Rolls - 660 yards of Rainbow Color Craft Paper Tape - Colorful Teacher Tape for Art, Labeling, Classroom Decorations, Bulk Teaching Supplies • Amazon Business $24.95 1 $24.95
Sterilite 16428012 6 Quart/5.7 Liter Storage Box, White Lid with Clear Base (Pack of 12) • Amazon Business $22.69 1 $22.69
Gorilla Wood Glue, 18 ounce Bottle • Amazon Business $4.39 5 $21.95
Komelon 4912IM The Professional 12-Foot Inch/Metric Scale Power Tape, Yellow • Amazon Business $5.00 4 $20.00
Pitsco Education 52734 Balsa Wood, 1/8" x 1/8" x 36" (Pack of 50) • Amazon Business $19.18 1 $19.18
IRWIN VISE-GRIP Long Nose Pliers, 6-Inch (2078216) • Amazon Business $8.90 2 $17.80
Heze Reusable Fastening Tape/Cable Ties (15ft×2) • Amazon Business $13.99 1 $13.99
IRWIN VISE-GRIP Wire Stripping Tool / Wire Cutter, 8-Inch (2078309) • Amazon Business $11.99 1 $11.99
Gydandir 450 Pieces Nickel Plated Steel T-Pins Assorted Size 1 Inch, 1-1/4 Inch, 1-1/2 Inch, 1-3/4 Inch, 2 Inch • Amazon Business $8.99 1 $8.99
Keeper 06119 Adjustable Flat Bungee Cord • Amazon Business $3.59 2 $7.18
Scotch 845 Book Tape, 2 Inches x 15 Yards, 3 Inch Core, Crystal Clear • Amazon Business $6.99 1 $6.99

Materials cost

$472.07

Vendor shipping charges

FREE

Sales tax

$0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$7.08

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$509.15

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$89.85

Total project goal

$599.00

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$599.00

3 Donors

-$300.00

Donations toward project cost

-$255.00

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$45.00

match offer

-$299.00

Match offer toward project cost

-$254.15

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$44.85

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

$0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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Project Activity

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