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This teacher needs your help!

Mr. Kovach from Chicago, IL is requesting supplies through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Mr. Kovach is requesting

Knowledge is Power: Alternative Energy Power II

My students need 1 Solar House, 1 Powerhouse Renewable Energy Kit, 1 Solar Oven, 2 Basic Solar Kits, 1 Discovery School Earth's Energy DVD, and 1 Energy Essentials Book Series.

  • $560 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Mr. Kovach for his next project!

Help Mr. Kovach

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Mr. Kovach for his next project!

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.

"You see that pale, blue dot? That's us. Everything that has ever happened in all of human history, has happened on that pixel. All the triumphs and all the tragedies, all the wars all the famines, all the major advances... it's our only home. And that is what is at stake, our ability to live on planet Earth, to have a future as a civilization. I believe this is a moral issue, it is your time to seize this issue, it is our time to rise again to secure our future." This is a quote from Al Gore's book/movie, "An Inconvenient Truth." I teach over 100 sixth-eighth grade students Science at a low-income inner-city school. My students and I have begun to rise up and secure our future through inquiry based experiments and projects involving alternative energy sources. We were very appreciate and fortunate last year when we received several solar car kits through a generous donation through a previous DonorsChoose.org proposal. The level of excitement in conducting last year's experiments with those solar cars has reaffirmed my commitment of continuing to work through DonorsChoose.org. We have since received a Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Car Kit and Solar Physics Set with Part I of this proposal. Due to the overwhelming interests in this area of inquiry by both female and male students, I have been able to create a before-school alternative energy engineering club for several of my students. In this Part II we are seeking additional alternative energy resources for inquiry-based, highly meaningful science projects in the same manner as students from more affluent suburban schools. Besides continuing to learn with the solar cars that we received last year, these kits that we are seeking will allow us to cooperatively expand our knowledge of alternative energy principles and technologies in general. My students will understand more in depth how light travels; how energy is transferred; how photons of light convert into electricity with Photovoltaic cells; what kind of housing construction materials absorb and reflect solar energy the best; how solar ovens can be used for cooking things such as hot-dogs; and more ideas for their own designs of alternative energy technologies. The Renewable Energy Powerhouse kit that we are seeking will allow my students to: "Take an adventure in sustainable living. Postulating life on a hypothetical island, they discover how to transform and use energy from the sun, wind, electrochemical reactions, and plants by building models that include a solar house, windmill, greenhouse, electric train, sail car, and desalination system." Your help in funding this project will help quench my students' continued thirst for hands-on inquiry-based learning experiences, thus giving them an equal playing field with more affluent suburban school children who receive more funding and resources from their school districts. This proposal is also aligned to our State Science Learning Standard that requires students to "HAVE A WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROCESSES OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY AND TECHNOLOGICAL DESIGN TO INVESTIGATE QUESTIONS, CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS AND SOLVE PROBLEMS." Last but not least, as Al Gore's leadership reminds us in this age of increased awareness of the alarming effects of global warming, the problem of finding alternative sources of energy and technology may be the most urgent problem that my students will face as our society's future leaders. For the sake of the reasons mentioned above, please help ensure these learning experiences for my students continue and I thank you in advance for considering this proposal!

Mr. Kovach Ruben Salazar Bilingual Center 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.

More about Mr. Kovach

Chicago, IL View local requests

More than three‑quarters of 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

100 students impacted 4donors

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Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Mr. Kovach is requesting.

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Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
Discovery School™ Earth's Energy DVD • Frey Scientific, Inc. $59.95 1 $59.95
Basic Solar Kit • Frey Scientific, Inc. $21.95 2 $43.90
Solar Oven • Frey Scientific, Inc. $44.95 1 $44.95
Powerhouse Renewable Energy Kit • Frey Scientific, Inc. $155.00 1 $155.00
Solar House • Frey Scientific, Inc. $53.00 1 $53.00
Energy Essentials Book Series (Set of 4) • Frey Scientific, Inc. $36.35 1 $36.35

Materials cost

$393.15

Vendor shipping charges

$39.32

Sales tax

$0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$9.83

Fulfillment labor & materials

$17.00

Total project cost

$459.00

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$100.76

Total project goal

$559.76

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$559.76

3 Donors

-$270.00

Donations toward project cost

-$229.50

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$40.50

match offer

-$270.00

Match offer toward project cost

-$221.40

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$48.60

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$9.88

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

$0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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Project Activity

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