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This teacher needs your help!

Mr. Gerhardt from Pinole, CA is requesting technology through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Mr. Gerhardt is requesting

Engineers in Development!

My students need Snap Circuits to gain a basic understanding of electricity and circuits. Solar Lab and MudWatt kits will allow them to test energy creation and storage.

FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Gerhardt's classroom raised $2,538

This project is fully funded

My Students

"How might we create a more efficient solar panel?" or "How might we make the light automatic?” are questions you hear in my classroom. "The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery." -Mark Van Doren This quote is a perfect explanation of my approach to teaching.

My students hunger to use their hands in class and are curious about the world.

They love to experiment and learn new things. They love anything which gets them out of their seat! They come from a wide variety of demographic and economic backgrounds. My school is a very "calm" and focused place with students and teachers obviously happy to be there. It is slightly rural in that it is bordered by woodlands and a creek. We are slowly transitioning to a school with a focus on STEM concepts. Recently we have created a dedicated science and engineering lab.

My Project

The requested Snap Circuits, SolarLab kits and MudWatt kits will fill some holes in electrical engineering and computer science programs we already have in place. Currently, we have sets of Little Bits, Lego Robotics, Arduino starter kits, and two 3D printers. We will start with the Little Bits which give a very basic introduction to electricity. What they learn from Little Bits will feed into Snap Circuits and more advanced circuitry. From there, they will have a solid foundation to move into MudWatts and SolarLabs. From there, students will experiment with integrating all of the different pieces and getting them to work together. For example, "How might your Little Bits creation be solar powered?" During these experiments, students will also be learning about mechanical software engineering by using Mindstorms/Lego robotics kits. Lastly, students will use Arduino micro-controllers along with our 3D printers to build and program their own creations!

When people ask me about why I emphasize design and engineering in my class, I hold up my phone and say, "Kids need to know that a person designed this." Students look at all of the extremely complex and advanced items that are around them but they don't understand the human connection to these items.

It is my hope that giving them a little window into how electricity works and how engineers think, it might get them interested in going into engineering. This is especially true among females!

Mr. Gerhardt Ellerhorst Elementary 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.

Pinole, CA View local requests

More than a third 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

66 students impacted 11donors

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Snap Circuits Extreme SC-750 Electronics Discovery Kit • Amazon Business $85.28 8 $682.24
SolarLab 1.0 Solar Electricity Learning Kit • Amazon Business $49.95 8 $399.60
MudWatt Science Kit • Amazon Business $39.99 8 $319.92
Snap Circuits Extreme SC-750 Electronics Discovery Kit with Student and Teacher Guide • Amazon Business $140.31 2 $280.62
MudWatt HackerPack • Amazon Business $14.99 8 $119.92
MudWatt Microbial Fuel Cell Cathode • Amazon Business $14.99 8 $119.92

Materials cost

$1,922.22

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $175.88

3rd party payment processing fee

$28.83

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$2,156.93

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$380.63

Total project goal

$2,537.56

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $2,537.56

11 Donors

-$2,473.51

Donations toward project cost

-$2,156.93

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$316.58

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$64.05

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

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

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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Gerhardt and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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