Past projects 4
Science Fair Supplies
Funded Feb 2, 2023Thanks for supporting our science fair!
This year we had students investigating what happens when water balloons hit T-Shirts at various angles, exploring nature in their neighborhood, comparing lotion brands, testing microorganisms in water, and more!
All students learned a lot about how science works and how we can use it to solve problems, mundane, pervasive, and in between!
By helping monetarily, you help offset the cost of being a teacher for me, and help my students have broader options for their choices in their projects.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Seningen
This classroom project was brought to life by A Philly Special Christmas and 6 other donors.Carnivorous Plant Science Fair
Funded Apr 26, 2022The science fair was a huge success! Thank you for your donations that made these projects such a great opportunity for our students.
It was a cathartic moment for some students as we had a difficult year coming back from quarantine. We had not had many opportunities to have the entire grade together. Students were excited to share their projects with peers in other classes.
Students from fourth, fifth, and sixth grade came to check out their projects. Many of the visiting students expressed how excited they were to get to my class to do their very own projects!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Seningen
Carnivorous Plant Terrarium
Funded Aug 19, 2021Thank you for supporting our return to school! It was wonderful to bring a project that I am passionate about to the classroom. By filling the classroom with interesting displays, I was able to engage my students in a way that they had not experienced. This terrarium and the collection of plants fueled fruitful discussions, and served as a method of developing deeper observations.
I set the vertical terrarium up with mosses and carnivorous plants. Students love watching the plants eat, grow, and thrive. Our 7th grade English teacher has been using Venus fly traps as a reading piece, and having them in my classroom enabled rich, cross content discussions.
I received more plants than could safely fit in the terrarium, so I set up another terrarium in a large fish tank. This has been great, as I now have several stations that students can rotate around the room to make their observations.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Seningen
This classroom project was brought to life by Your friend in Pennsylvania and 2 other donors.Seventh Grade Science Podcasts
Funded Aug 31, 2018This project was a meaningful way for students to engage with astronomy. Many students took this opportunity to deepen their understanding and appreciation for the topic. Framing our exploration through the cosmos using podcasts was an interesting way to bring the material to the students.
Before students began working on their own podcasts, we listened to excerpts from several age appropriate science podcasts such as Brains On! and Wow in the World. Both I recommend checking out for adults, too! My students listened for various aspects that we often hear in podcasts such as skits, interviews, listeners calling in, and sound effects.
They then took these elements, and research about various astronomical bodies, and stitched their own podcasts together. Their topics ranged from the moon and seasons to rouge exoplanets and black holes. Some of the podcasts featured "commercial" breaks from fictional and real products which were often hilarious! The main takeaway after listening to the podcasts was this project increased their interest in astronomy and brought new technology into their hands.
Some of my students took the reins to edit podcasts on their own time. After a demonstration showing how to make simple edits to eliminate filler words such as "uh" and "um" students in editing roles polished their podcasts to sound great.
Thank you deeply on behalf of myself and my 7th grade students at Hopkinson!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Seningen
This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and 6 other donors.