Science Gram Stain Procedure Project

PVF loves to hear from grantees, partner organizations, and teachers about their experiences. Read a letter from Michelle Fitts at East Bay Innovation Academy School in Oakland, CA who was awarded a Science grant to perform a Gram stain procedure to differentiate between two types of bacteria: Gram-positive and Gram-negative. This hands-on activity helped students understand the basics of microbiology and the importance of staining techniques in scientific research. 

“Dear Philanthropic Ventures Foundation,

Thank you so much for allowing our students to expand their understanding of chemistry and biology with all of the amazing materials your Science Resource grant allowed us to purchase.

Our middle school students were so excited to be able to do their very first Gram Stain procedure.  While they have done a couple of simulations, they got so much more out of experiencing the precision required to prepare the samples and then finding out that they could easily interpret the correct results.

After our middle school students finished, we were able to get the materials to our high school so the biology students could conduct their own Gram Stain procedures before the living samples could no longer be used.  This was the first time our high school had done this as well. Now that we have the foundational materials we can repeat this experience for many more students in the years to come.  

Your funds led to new understandings in chemistry as well.  We were able to purchase a kit from Ward’s Science which allowed the students to conduct several experiments involving determining the difference between physical and chemical changes.  They also did investigations identifying different types of medals using their properties.”