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This teacher needs your help!

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

See what Mr. Kang is requesting

Teaching Real Science Through Microbiohacking

My students need authentic molecular biology reagents and other consumables to complete a semester project to spark a genuine interest in science.

  • $1,306 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

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Help Mr. Kang

My Students

"We're all born scientists until we hit junior high school." -Dr. Michio Kaku. It is my goal to ensure that students develop and implement quality science projects that will reverberate throughout their undergraduate and postgraduate career. My students are eager to learn real science.

My students are all seniors attending a magnet high school in a large urban school district.

My students have chosen to take a science elective in their fourth year. They all have a burgeoning interest in science and many have aspirations to pursue science as a career. Though we have universities that are near the school, many do not take high school students because of their lack of experience. We hope that this class will prepare students to enter a lab their first year of college and contribute substantially to the lab because they already have the laboratory skills that are not readily available in most first year students. This class is purely interest driven and my students are highly motivated in their schooling, but I want them to develop this love of exploring and discovering rather than memorizing for a grade.

My Project

Far too often, science is taught through lectures, worksheets, demonstrations and kits, but this does not provide students with an authentic science experience. Even though students are performing experiments through kits, the kits are formulaic and do not require troubleshooting and additional thinking that would develop important skills of a scientist, including the ability to think critically and analyze and solve problems. In the first quarter, students will learn all basic molecular and protein chemistry skills that are used in current academic research labs. In addition, students will develop an independent research project and defend their project proposal in a qualifying examination akin to the ones used in academic research. My students need authentic molecular biology reagents and other consumables. We will build most of our equipment using household objects and Arduinos, but most chemical reagents are proprietary and it is difficult to make chemicals ourselves that will work. Therefore, we are forced to purchase reagents and other consumables.

This is the first class of this type in our high school and possibly in all high schools.

The class is purely a lab class which I have developed using my experiences from pursuing my PhD in science. I really believe that doing science rather than hearing about science is important in developing future scientists. We, as a nation, have fallen behind the science race, because the current method of science education do not inspire the students to discover and explore.

Mr. Kang Whitney Young Magnet High School Grades 9-12

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. Kang

Chicago, IL View local requests

More than half 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

124 students impacted 12donors

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

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Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
Ethidium Bromide DNA Stain, 250 mL (Dilution) • Carolina Biological Supply Company $33.25 1 $33.25
10x Loading Dye, 1 mL • Carolina Biological Supply Company $5.22 1 $5.22
Tris-Borate-EDTA (TBE) Buffer, 500 mL • Carolina Biological Supply Company $30.40 1 $30.40
Tris-Glycine SDS Buffer • Carolina Biological Supply Company $18.95 1 $18.95
Tris-Acetate-EDTA (TAE), 100 mL • Carolina Biological Supply Company $18.05 1 $18.05
Kanamycin Solution, 4 mL • Carolina Biological Supply Company $4.75 1 $4.75
5x COOMASSIE(r) Destain Solution, 500 mL • Carolina Biological Supply Company $9.74 1 $9.74
Ampicillin Solution, 100 mL • Carolina Biological Supply Company $37.95 1 $37.95
Ampicillin/X-gal Solution, 5.4 mL • Carolina Biological Supply Company $23.51 1 $23.51
Instant Lambda DNA, 10 x 10 ug • Carolina Biological Supply Company $49.35 1 $49.35
Molecular Weight Marker, 50 ug (200 uL; 0.25 ug/L) • Carolina Biological Supply Company $61.75 1 $61.75
Plasmid DNA Isolation Reagent System • Carolina Biological Supply Company $55.05 1 $55.05
BamHI, Instant Enzyme, 16 Tubes • Carolina Biological Supply Company $44.60 1 $44.60
EcoRI, Instant Enzyme, 16 Tubes • Carolina Biological Supply Company $44.60 1 $44.60
HindIII, Instant Enzyme, 16 Tubes • Carolina Biological Supply Company $44.60 1 $44.60
T4 DNA Ligase, 100 uL (20,000 units) • Carolina Biological Supply Company $179.55 1 $179.55
RNase A • Carolina Biological Supply Company $12.82 1 $12.82
Taq DNA Polymerase • Carolina Biological Supply Company $137.75 1 $137.75
Deoxynucleotide Mix • Carolina Biological Supply Company $156.70 1 $156.70

Materials cost

$968.59

Vendor shipping charges

$96.86

Sales tax

$0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$14.53

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$1,109.98

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$195.88

Total project goal

$1,305.86

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$1,305.86

10 Donors

-$1,287.51

Donations toward project cost

-$1,109.98

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$177.53

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$18.35

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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