Intersecting Science & Art in AP Biology

Funded Dec 14, 2018

Thank you so much for your generous donation to our AP Biology science class! The lab materials you funded took abstract scientific theories and made them into real, tangible concepts.

The students were extremely excited when I initially told them about your contributions. After the first lab activity we completed, it felt as though they asked me on an a daily basis when the next lab would be. While you supplied many materials to our class, the student's favorite was the brine shrimp natural selection lab. Over the course of 3 days, students cultured and analyzed brine shrimp embryos in various salinity solutions to determine the effect of solutes on embryo development rates. Students then used this data to draw conclusions about the process of natural selection. I appreciate how this activity enabled students to gain hands-on laboratory experience by using new instruments, strengthened their analytical skills through data collection and focused on applying an interdisciplinary approach to making real world connections. Achieving this level of understanding would not have been possible without your generous donations.

While your donation promoted numerous academic gains in my classroom, perhaps the best part of receiving these materials was witnessing the excitement generated by my students as they became scientists and had the freedom to explore scientific ideas with hands-on activities. Students favored the brine shrimp lab because it was the first time they were given the opportunity to work with live organisms. Students became extremely enthusiastic and connected to their work, sometimes affectionately naming their specimen samples and expressing a desire to keep the live brine shrimp as class pets once the lab was completed. These experiences exemplify how interactive lessons can make students understand science in a way that is impossible from a textbook alone.

These unique and interesting classroom experiences would not be possible without your kind donations! I can not sufficiently express how much your donation has helped to make this year a success. Thank you so very much!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Molloy