Well-designed, hands-on activities in the classroom foster connections to real-world situations and increase learner engagement. This commingling of the classroom and the rest of life is called hands-on learning. 

I have created a classroom full of living organisms to include: 
fish
frogs
butterflies
turtles
crayfish
snakes
crickets
worms, plants and a praying mantis. This is all helped to foster team work and responsibility when researching when building a lesson centered around claim evidence and reasoning. 

When students make connections between the concepts in the classroom and concepts in the real world, more parts of their brains are activated, and the knowledge gained more easily transfers to long-term memory. This style of teaching and learning also fosters the growth of critical thinking and problem solving skills.

.... also due to creating hands on experiences with a variety of organisms my  third and fourth grade Mastery science scholars test scores increased significantly! They love to come to science and most want to enter the scientific or health care field.

The funds that are given will support live organisms, their habitats and guest special science speaker.

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