Past projects 9
Visualizing Environmental Science
Funded May 5, 2025Thank you so much for the creative supplies for my class. They went above and beyond with creativity and sharing with their community. The Cricut vinyl was a hit in making team shirts, and decals for the Taco Bell, In N Out and lifeguards boats. The stands were filled and cheating for the students dives and competition. The embroidery thread helped students customize tote bags and up-cycled college shirts they will be showcasing on senior night. Our art pieces and books sparked interest in our elementary and middle school friends. The were shocked about the trash in the ocean impacting Tina and Fred the Flatback turtles. And they loved learning about tree kangaroos, mountain gorillas and especially snow leopards that are endangered and why. Thanks you for bringing my students so much joy through creation and sparking future generations to take interest in environmental impacts and upcycling.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Geels
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and 2 other donors.Tragedy of the Commons
Funded May 14, 2025My students were beyond excited when we unboxed the fishing sets. We went fishing for our tragedy of the commons lab. Students fought over whose company could catch the most fish and for how many years(rounds). Some fought to catch with the nets and they made greater profits than the long line fishing rods. Once the students go to round 4 they realized the fish left didn't reproduce very much and they started to have less stock for profits. The students said this was the best to review and go over this topic and super fun. Students for next years classes have come by and can't wait to continue this fun fishing lab!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Geels
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and one other donor.Environmental Lab Storage and Restock
Funded May 10, 2025Thank you so much for getting our lab organized! This will help so much keep all of our day to day activities on track. The students are very excited for the live daphnia and owl pellet restock to start the year! We are truly grateful for all of the firm experiences you put in our students hands.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Geels
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and 2 other donors.Creating the Carbon Cycle
Funded May 6, 2025Thank you so much for bringing building and learning manipulatives to my students. Often times it is hard to learn about what we cannot see, and these tools will have to bring the microscopic and subatomic world into view. My students cannot wait to get their hands on building lego and geo 3D models.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Geels
This classroom project was brought to life by Young Sheldon and one other donor.Creative Classroom Essentials
Funded May 6, 2025Thank you so much for the creative classroom essentials. My students are going to love poster reviews, making their 3D footprints and more. These materials will be the gift that keeps on giving throughout the year. They keep asking what this next year holds for us, and are ready to dive into environmental science and chemistry.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Geels
This classroom project was brought to life by Young Sheldon and 2 other donors.Exploring Ecosystems
Funded May 5, 2025thank you so much for this amazing opportunity to explore our ecosystems deeper. My students are so excited for the board games to look at different Biomes. They are also very excited for our new labs for air pollution and soil quality for agriculture. You are giving them a great opportunity to not only learn, but exploring future career paths.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Geels
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and 2 other donors.Sea Otter Forensics
Funded Nov 8, 2024My students are very appreciative of your generosity to bring this experience to our classroom. They love any opportunity to go beyond the classroom. This also gave us a great opportunity to look at careers in Marine Biology and Environmental Toxicology.
One of the first responses from many students was : "Oh my gosh, I LOVE sea otters!". they have been asking all year when they get to study the sea otters, and were overfilled with joy when Lab day came. The students saw the liver damage, but couldn't figure out what in the environment can cause liver damage to the poor otters and other animals. They also were very intrigued to learn of how humans bodies can function and have similar responses to the environment like sea otters. This especially hits close to home for students because many visit Monterey Bay annually and we live within a few hours of this incident studied. From this experience it has stemmed students interest to look at our local lakes and streams to see if there are simar toxins that can affect humans and animals in our central region. We will use this curiosity to further study and get out into our town to see our own water quality and how pollutants bioaccumulate here.
The students have been studying food chains this year and they now are looking at how one small toxin can build up through an ecosystem. They students will be studying water quality further with water borne illnesses. They will also see how human activates can affect the success and survival of various species around the world. This great experience has given my students more questions and more ideas to explore in the environment around them for their health and the health of the environment.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Geels
This classroom project was brought to life by Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation and 3 other donors.Manipulating Chemistry with Magnetic Molecules
Funded Feb 6, 2020Students absolutely love the magnetic water molecules. We use them in multiple parts of the year ,whether it is talking about bonds, polarity, or solubility. The magnetic sheets have been used to make protons, neutrons, and electrons. I have students come up to the white board and practice atomic structure with them as well as representing hoe electrons behave in certain orbitals. Additional they use the atom magnets to balance chemical equations with visuals. Lastly, the laminator and sheets are used to make assignments students can reuse and write on. Mainly for stoichiometry math problems and determining patterns on the periodic table.
The students thought the white boards magnets were easy to help show them what an atom even is, but they were most excited about the water molecules. They love to see the shapes and connections between polar water molecules while using real water to see the same properties.
Students are currently using the molecules and acid/base magnets in a study of a fish kill that occurred in Indiana's White River. They are using it to understand if ionic compounds can be soluble and what happens if the water is acidic at the same time. How did so many fish die? And What is the source of the pollution?”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Geels
Hands-On Chemistry With Molecular Models
Funded Oct 24, 2019My students were in love with the 3D molecule kits and chalk markers. When they heard that they got to build and writ on the lab tables, they could not wait to begin. The students began with bonding basic covalent molecules given to them, but wanted to go even further to see more complex molecule structures. I had many attempt to build glucose and then polymer chains with their model kits. In one of my classes 2 groups combine their kits to make longer chains of monomers.
One of my students pictured was overjoyed with how the hands on building and writing on the table helped him improve his overall performance. With these resources he would come in and practice during RTI. By the end of the unit his practice payed off and he went from getting D's and F's on the exams to 100% on his quizzes and 80 % and 90% on the final two bonding exams.
They students continued to use the molecules in our conservation of mass unit. By being able to build the molecules it allowed students to visualize if a chemical equation was balanced. In addition, they also used the chalk markers to write out how many moles of each molecule were on each side of the equation using the R.A.P. method.
Without your support. These amazing opportunities count not have happened. Thank you so much for providing my students with creative and interactive learning experiences that keep on giving throughout the school year. They go straight for the chalk markers whether it is story boarding, balancing equations, or drawing out how molecules interact.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Geels
This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and 10 other donors.