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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Flores Schustack from Oakland, CA is requesting art supplies through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Flores Schustack is requesting

Making a Mars Colony: The Best Project of the Year!

Help me give my students the supplies to make a really great Mars Colony!

FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Flores Schustack's classroom raised $560

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 Project

Every year we use the last 3 weeks of school to work on a cross-curricular project called the Mars project. Teachers (dressed in mechanic coveralls labeled NASA) begin the project by escorting students to the auditorium to watch a short (edited) clip of the movie "The Martian" and talk about the possibility of life on Mars.

That same day they are sorted into groups and given their task: create a company that is going to design a prototype of a self-sustaining colony on Mars.

We spend time in each core subject designing their logo, assigning jobs within their company, learning about the effects of colonization in History, learning how to create power, water, food, and energy on Mars in Science, learning how to calculate the amount of calories of food energy needed to sustain their colony and footage of the colony layout in math, and create a company website and an investor pitch in English. This is project based learning at its best!

Students who have been disengaged all year will suddenly take on the mantle of being the CEO and making sure everyone does their job well, students whose creativity has been unleashed will create a jaw-dropping display for their colony, and students who are normally shy will blossom because they are showing their learning in so many different ways!

This project marries all the best parts of each content learning area (History, Science, Math AND English) to create a project that is fully anchored in the real world while also harnessing students' creative genius.

We need all these mini glue guns sticks, paint, and popsicle sticks to create a Mars colony, and your contribution would make this very memorable project possible!

Ms. Flores Schustack Elmhurst United 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.

Oakland, CA View local requests

Nearly all 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

120 students impacted 1donor

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Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Ms. Flores Schustack 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

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Wooden Craft (Popsicle) Sticks - Box of 1,000 • Nasco $6.20 18 $111.60
Mini Hot Glue Gun Sticks (Bulk Pack of 600) - 4" Length, 0.27" Diameter - Multi-Purpose for DIY Art, Crafts, Home Decoration, Sealing, and Repairing - Compatible with Most Glue Guns • Amazon Business $34.99 2 $69.98
Sax Fluid Acrylic Paint, 1 Pint Bottles, Assorted Colors, Set of 12 • School Specialty $65.62 1 $65.62
Surebonder Cool Shot Mini Glue Gun Glue Sticks - Pkg of 40 • Blick Art Materials $6.61 8 $52.88
Mont Marte Discovery School Acrylic, Titanium White and Black, 1/2 Gallon (2 Liter). Ideal for Students and Artists. Excellent Coverage and Fast Drying. Pump Lid Included. • Amazon Business $44.99 1 $44.99
Crayola Washable Paints, Black, 16 oz. (54-2016-051) • Quill.com $7.11 6 $42.66

Materials cost

$387.73

Vendor shipping charges

 $16.51

Sales tax

 $35.48

3rd party payment processing fee

$5.82

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$475.54

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$83.92

Total project goal

$559.46

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $559.46

1 Donor

-$559.46

Donations toward project cost

-$475.54

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$83.92

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 Ms. Flores Schustack and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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