The cost of a See-Inside Classroom Incubator is $320, including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
For the past several years I have been involved in teaching the life cycle of how chickens hatch eggs. Each year this has been a successful learning experience for both the students in my class and the students throughout the school.
For the past three years we have had a successful hatch, but last year I noticed that the incubator was not working properly. Although our project was well underway when the incubator malfunctioned, with the help of the parents and the school custodians and myself (including my husband!) someone was on hand to monitor the temperature and the humidity level of the incubator. We were able to monitor several times throughout the day and evening hours. I went up on the weekends and made sure that the incubator was at the right temperature. It was well worth the work-- of the twenty-four eggs, seventeen hatched.
Unfortunately, I am reluctant to use the incubator this year for fear of the harmful effects it may have on the unborn chicks. My students this year remember the hatch from last year and are already asking when we are going to prepare to hatch the chicks. I haven't the heart to tell them that I can't afford to buy a new incubator. The last incubator I purchased about six years ago with my own money.
There are several educational objectives that I teach during this unit. We are able to observe, learn and understand the needs and stages that eggs go through as they grow. The children learn how to monitor the incubator, read a thermometer, check the humidity using a gyrometer, and most of all they learn the responsibility of dealing with live animals. I find that the hands on experience that we are able to focus on during this unit adds to the success of the hatch. I am convinced that the young eggs sense the children's laughter in the room.
I start teaching the unit long before we even set up the incubator. In preparation for this unit, the students have science lessons which include learning about the life cycle of animals, how animals adapt to their environment, and what is essential to help animals thrive within the environment. We use the internet to help us research baby chicks and how to implement the incubation process using an incubator. Once the chicks hatch and are strong enough, we return them to the farm where I purchased the fertilized eggs.
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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 Mrs. Kilkenny and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
