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This teacher needs your help!

Mr. Atkinson from San Francisco, CA is requesting art supplies through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Mr. Atkinson is requesting

Earthquake Tower Design Project

Help me give my students an amazing opportunity to design, build, and test their final project with real scientific tools and quantitative data .

FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Atkinson's classroom raised $1,369

This project is fully funded

My Project

For our final project in the Earth Science Unit, students learn about different engineering strategies that are actually used here in San Francisco to protect buildings from earthquake damage. Then, they incorporate what they've learned to design + build their own tower. At the end of the week, students test out their designs on an "earthquake simulator" shaking table. It's super fun and students love it!

We already do a version of this lab, but our equipment is very rudimentary, doesn't accurately test the students' towers, and limits the amount of student learning that is possible with this assignment.

If this project is funded, we will have the tools to add an element of measurable data to the challenge. We will be able to compare different student's towers by applying the exact same earthquake to each different tower. We will also be able to record the amplitude of their towers' movement and graph it to see whose tower is the most stable.

Having a programmable earthquake table will ensure consistency during the tower contest, which will greatly enhance student buy-in. The accelerometer will give us accurate data that students will then have to graph, analyze and interpret to reflect on their project in a meaningful way. While the price of this project is lofty, the benefits will be very real and tangible. This is a final project we build towards for weeks, and this equipment will be used by students for years to come. I sincerely believe having quality equipment for this project will significantly raise the stakes in my classes and transform the learning potential of the entire 3-month learning unit.

Thank you so much for considering to support this project!

Mr. Atkinson Aptos Middle School Grades 6-8

Equity Focus

This project directly supports students at a historically underfunded school. Learn more about our Equity Focus.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

San Francisco, CA View local requests

More than half of 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

300 students impacted 10donors

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Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Mr. Atkinson is requesting.

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TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

You can start a project with the same resources being requested here!

Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
Pitsco EQs Tremor Table • Amazon Business $965.00 1 $965.00
[Bluetooth 5.0 Accelerometer+Inclinometer] WT901BLECL MPU9250 High-Precision 9-axis Gyroscope+Angle(XY 0.05° Accuracy)+Magnetometer with Kalman Filter, Low-Power 3-axis AHRS IMU Sensor for Arduino • Amazon Business $41.27 1 $41.27
KYODOLED Large Cash Box with Combination Lock,Safe Metal Box for Money, Storage Lock Box with Money Tray,9.84"x 7"x 3.54" Limegreen Large • Amazon Business $17.99 1 $17.99

Materials cost

$1,024.26

Vendor shipping charges

FREE

Sales tax

$93.72

3rd party payment processing fee

$15.36

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$1,163.34

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$205.30

Total project goal

$1,368.64

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$1,368.64

8 Donors

-$996.29

Donations toward project cost

-$886.85

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$109.44

match offer

-$325.28

Match offer toward project cost

-$276.49

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$48.79

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$47.06

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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