My 7th grade STEM exploratory class is submitting this request after finishing our ecology unit in science. Travis, Selena, Michael, Brandon, Rashick, Khiree, Katie, Cynthia, Johnny, Amya, Jason, and Jacob are leading this project in order to help our science department grow!
My students developed this project idea after finishing our unit on ecology. They wanted to find a way that would allow students to explore the microscopic world around them without simply taking samples of it and bringing it back into the lab. In their research, they located these handheld digital microscopes that would allow them to view microscopic life as they explore the environment in a more hands on and interactive way!
My students will develop both academic and social-emotional skills through this project that will prepare them for college and their careers! Having these portable microscopes will allow them to learn about microorganisms and their environment, their effects on other living things, and be able to classify these organisms in order to determine if they are helpful or harmful to their ecosystem. Students will further develop skills in teamwork and real-life problem solving by investigating the types of microorganisms that can be found on plant life in our schools garden and how to appropriately respond to them based on their helpful or harmful nature.
In Their Own Words
Have you ever been walking around and just wanted to know what else is there in the world around you that you just cant see? How about having a garden and being confused as to what is eating or killing your plants because nothing is there? That's how we feel about the world around us! It's hard to be able to explore these types of questions with traditional microscopes since we have to take a sample, prepare it on a slide, and may not even capture what we were looking for in the first place.
We will be leaders in bringing this project to life by showcasing and teaching our peers how to use these new digital microscopes that will allow us to actually view the microscopic world as we are out exploring in our environment! We also plan to use these at our rising 6th graders orientation in order to boost excitement about our schools STEM program and get them ready for the amazing opportunities that they will have here!
This project is important to us and our school community because science is a big area where there are tons of opportunities for jobs and careers around our school, but just not enough interest in order to fill them. Also, our schools garden is always getting eaten up or diseased and we want to be able to solve the mystery of what types of organisms are causing these problems! Our knowledge will carry over in order to explore solutions that are economical and environmentally friendly!
Mustcam 5M Handheld Mobile LCD Digital Microscope with 1200x magnification, Micro-SD Storage, Photo and Video Capture, Measurement by Software (Grey)
• Amazon Business
$129.50
8
$1,036.00
SanDisk Ultra SDSDQUAN-032G-G4A 32GB UHS-I/Class 10 Micro SDHC Memory Card With Adapter
• Amazon Business
$15.49
8
$123.92
Materials cost
$1,159.92
Vendor shipping charges
FREE
Sales tax
$81.77
3rd party payment processing fee
$17.40
Fulfillment labor & materials
$30.00
Total project cost
$1,289.09
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$227.49
Total project goal
$1,516.58
Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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 Dr. Sutherland and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
