 Ted Koehn of Lincoln East High School in Lincoln, Nebraska, holds a homemade inclined plane he uses in a variety of physics lessons. With humor and insight into teachers’ struggles during this troubled economic time, Koehn told a packed room of budget-conscious teachers how to do more than 60 chemistry and physics labs with low- or no-cost supplies and equipment. |
| While he’s a pro at saving money, he generously provided each attendee with a thick folder filled with instructions for labs and constructing one’s own equipment from such common items as juice cans, old curtain rods, used golf balls, and discarded pieces of wood.
For example, he showed how to make a catapult from wood sticks and a plastic spoon. His students use it to launch marshmallows and measure the trajectories. The audience cracked up when he said his students then “eat the marshmallows at their own risk.” Koehn concluded the session by calling the numbers he had written on the teachers’ folders. When a number was called, the lucky teacher could choose which of Koehn’s equipment and supplies he or she could take home. I told Koehn I was impressed by his cleverness in avoiding the need to schlep home all of the materials and by his generosity to his fellow teachers! |
 Francis Ayissi of Washington, D.C., was one of the teachers who was grateful for Koehn’s suggestions. “The value of a workshop like this one will improve the way I’m teaching, and it will also enhance the quality of my labs,” he explained. “In this current economic climate, I believe it’s very, very, very important to see how you can save money by using common materials like those items we find in our homes, kitchens, in the neighborhoods where we live.” |
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5 Comments
The guy who “lets” teachers “win a prize” and take home some of his ideas was great. He sounds creative all around—on a very little budget. I think everyone likes a deal.
Mr. Koehn, I attended your workshop on the 60 labs, and there wasn’t enough room. They should of put you in another room. Anyway, is there a remote possiblity that you could email me you ideas for chemistry and physics labs on low budget? I teach both and of course I am on definitely a small budget. I would love anything I could get. Thank you very much, Kathy Prislovsky Stuttgart High School Stuttgart, Arkansas
Mr. Koehn: Is it possible to get one of those folders with all the lesson plans/ lab ideas? I am willing to pay for it and the shipping.
Sincerely, Mitchell Kimura; Radford High School; Honolulu, Hawaii.
Dear Mr. Koehn, your workshop sounds fantastic. If it is possible I too would like to get one of those folders with all the lesson plans/ lab ideas. Or perhaps your work is published and you can point me to were I might purchase it.
Thanks
Bruce Schlyer, COOP HS, New Haven, CT
Kathy, bschlyer, and Mitchell,
I have a few hard copies of my presentation left. I don’t know what the protocol is for you to get your snail mail address to me, but if you do I will send you a copy of the presentation handout. Or if you are going to be in Philley for the National Conference I am doing this same session on Saturday from 5-6.
Ted Koehn