Bringing the Reef to School: Coral Donations

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Edd1ek1m

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We are reaching out to request some support in enhancing our high school biology classroom’s marine tank. As part of our ongoing effort to provide students with a hands-on, interactive learning experience, we are looking to add some colorful, easy-to-care-for corals to our existing setup.

Currently, we have Kenya trees and mushrooms thriving in the tank, but we want to introduce new species to engage students even more and enhance their understanding of marine biology.

We can also use some equipment that works well with our setup such as lighting, powerheads, and an Automatic top off system. Anything helps!

Proof of educational purposes can also be provided.

Edward Kim
 
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pledosophy

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Hello Edward,

I used run the Tanks for Teachers program for the PNWMAS. We put tanks in over 50 classrooms all around teh Pacific Northwest. Our biggest source of funding was through the Donors Choose website. At the time there were two ladies Melinda Gates, and Oprah that would fund anything we asked for marine biology related.

We went from piecing together donated equipment to having brand new systems and back up parts for all of the tanks. Many manufactures/etailers will also send you scratch and dent items for free in exchange for a picture of the item in use in the classroom for their social medias. There are a ton of resources out there in the hobby once you start contacting people.

One of the projects the teachers and kids seemed to like the best is when they did actual experiments with tanks. Say two identical tanks growing algae with different photo periods. Or how the level of phosphate affected the algae growth. Either one the kids had to run the tests daily and redose the consumed nutrients.

Fragging corals was also a hit, but I would steer you more towards things like SPS or RBTA's and not zoa's since they have a little more risk involved.

It's a fun journey. Cheers for you for taking it.
 
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ricecry

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pledosophy said:
Hello Edward,

I used run the Tanks for Teachers program for the PNWMAS. We put tanks in over 50 classrooms all around teh Pacific Northwest. Our biggest source of funding was through the Donors Choose website. At the time there were two ladies Melinda Gates, and Oprah that would fund anything we asked for marine biology related.

We went from piecing together donated equipment to having brand new systems and back up parts for all of the tanks. Many manufactures/etailers will also send you scratch and dent items for free in exchange for a picture of the item in use in the classroom for their social medias. There are a ton of resources out there in the hobby once you start contacting people.

One of the projects the teachers and kids seemed to like the best is when they did actual experiments with tanks. Say two identical tanks growing algae with different photo periods. Or how the level of phosphate affected the algae growth. Either one the kids had to run the tests daily and redose the consumed nutrients.

Fragging corals was also a hit, but I would steer you more towards things like SPS or RBTA's and not zoa's since they have a little more risk involved.

It's a fun journey. Cheers for you for taking it.
Click to expand...
This information is incredibly useful, thank you. I was thinking about setting up a saltwater tank up for a club I lead at my school next year. We've only had a small freshwater setup the past 2 years since we don't have much club funds to spend. Thank you for the ideas on gathering resources and on activities to do
 
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goody

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I've set up a reef tank in my 5th grade classroom for the past 4 years. Locals would generously donate to the cause, but last year I reached out to some companies for donations and several responded positively, including Kraken donating a lid. This year I came across Pets in the Classroom and I ended up getting a $125 grant and after sending in my receipts they sent me a check.
 
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Edd1ek1m

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Elvismacalinao said:
are you able to share some pics? if you don't have a tank, i can even donate a 70 gallon complete setup.
Let me know.
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That is generous of you, but we currently have an innovative marine 40 gallon setup that's been cycling for some time. We do plan on expanding to another classroom in the future for a hands on wet lab and can put your tank to use your plan
 
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