Top Ways to Stretch your Classroom Budget

As 2012 approaches, we're seeing classroom budgets cut in many states/schools. While many subjects to require demonstration materials, in my opinion, no subject needs them more than science. Here at Fischer Technical Company, we've been able to have another successful year by offering many opportunities through us directly or through our manufacturers to help stretch the budgets of the classroom. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Share the larger purchases. Manipulative Kits, Vacuum Pumps, Portable lab stations, Anatomical models are very costly yet very necessary to demonstrate/teach high school science. This is a great opportunity to pool budgets with other classrooms and share this equipment.

2. Consider "economy lines". Our principal, United Scientific, has been importing high quality glassware, plasticware, hardware, etc for 20 years now. Strict quality control processes are in place enabling teachers to save substantial money by passing on the name brands and stocking their classroom with non branded products.

3. Convert "breakables" to "unbreakables". One good example is to purchase plastic microscope slides as opposed to glass slides.

4. This is an easy one, but store your expensive items safely and properly. Cover your microscopes. Move painted models around carefully to avoid paint chipping. A little TLC goes a long way! If your kit came with a molded storage case, utilize it. Your kit was able to safely ship, likely from around the world in this packaging. It goes to show that this is probably the best way to store your kit.

5. Follow proper maintenance. If your vacuum pump requires oil. Change the oil regularly to ensure a long life for the pump. If your product has fittings that need greased, grease 'em!

6. Finally, make sure you are using the proper tool for the job. This is another obvious one. But many times I've seen people use pens to open boxes instead of a knife (the pen breaks and ink gets on the product), using a ruler as a scraper, using a text book as a shim, etc.

Many of these tips are obvious, but are often overlooked in the stressful and demanding day of our fine educators.

Have a happy holiday season!

John

Custom Kit Projects From United Scientific

Fischer Technical Company has been the manufacturer's representatives for United Scientific for over 20 years now. We've watched their business continue to grow every year and have seen the product line expand exponentially virtually every year.

One of the areas that United has been extremely successful is custom kitting projects. United can build kits to your specifications or work with you in designing a kit for a specific application/classroom. Most popular is kits of lab supplies and glassware. Would you like to have a full kit of laboratory supplies for each lab station in your classroom or research facility? United can help you!

Many of our kits are packaged in reusable storage boxes with handles to help eliminate breakage and keep all of the kits complete. Of course, we could supply replacement parts as well as students have been known over the years to drop a beaker or two!

We can put together customer prepared slide kits, custom physics kits, and basically any type of high school science kit (sans chemicals) you can imagine. United also has on staff a phd level physicist who can even write detailed activity guides for your kit. Need an expert in Genetics? We got one of them too!

United currently offers several kits in their catalog including: Electricity and Magnetism, Optics, Advanced Physics, Prepared Microscope slide sets, Friction, and many more.















Contact me for details if you'd like to offer these kits on your website or in your catalog or if you have a kit you'd like us to design!

Happy Holidays,

John

CAST and Happy Thanksgiving

I just returned from a long six day trip through Texas. As hard as it is to be away from the family that long, Texas is such a great place to visit!

After visiting a few of our valuable distributors in San Antonio and Austin, I headed to Dallas for the annual "CAST" show. This show rarely disappoints and this year was no different. United Scientific Supplies had two booths to exhibit their best selling Genetics Manipulative Kits. These kits were designed by Pat Traster, a retired teacher and genetics researcher. I was fortunate enough to have Pat join me in the booth for the duration of the show and his passion and knowledge were appreciated by the hundreds of teachers who stopped by our booth.

Foot traffic was very high at this show and all of the major vendors were there. I'd even go as far to say that if you only exhibit at one science education show per year, this is the one to choose. I find this show to be more profitable and effective than even the NSTA National show.

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone and wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday season!

John

Promoting our products on Facebook or Twitter?

Thank you very much to our valued distributors that promote our products and those from our principals on Facebook and Twitter. We also appreciate when our dealers use their websites to feature our products with special incentives.

As a token of our appreciation, we'd be more than happy to add any promotions you have on our products to our Twitter feed and Facebook page. Please email me any upcoming promotions you have to Jgura@fischertech.com or direct message me on facebook or twitter:

Twitter: @JohnGura
www.facebook.com/pages/Fischer-Technical-Company/156828747746480

Have a great day and I hope to see many of you next week in Dallas at the CAST show! Don't forget to stop by and say hello at booth 1030!

Talking Genetics at CAST!

As previously mentioned, United Scientific will be exhibiting at the CAST show in Texas from November 17 - November 19 at the Dallas Convention Center. We will be in booth 1030 and 1032.

We're pleased to announce that Mr. Patrick Traster will be in our booth demonstrating our genetics manipulative kits. We invite you to come by the booth and try these great teaching tools out for yourself! Pat taught Genetics for many years and is well known and respected in his field. You can view two of the products demonstrated on United Scientific's YouTube page, http://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedScientific

We'll be exhibiting the following kits:

DNA MANIPULATIVE KIT

Developed by teachers, this kit aids students in understanding the principles of recombinant DNA technology. It consists of teacher demonstration models and student manipulative sets, sufficient for a classroom of thirty students. Using the manipulatives, students learn the process of recombinant DNA technology. Plasmid DNA is cut with restriction enzymes and recombinant plasmids are formed. Laminated teacher and student gel electrophoresis boards are also included. Our kit allows students to learn DNA technology without the need for expensive laboratory equipment. Kit contains no consumable parts. It can therefore be used over and over again, and/or can be shared by the entire science department. Includes 78 peices of specially designed plastic manipulatives. Also included are a manual and instructional videotape in which an experienced teacher demonstrates use of the manipulatives included in the kit. Shipping weight 8 lbs., dimensions 22" x 17" x 4".




PROTEIN SYNTHESIS MANIPULATIVE KIT

The kit was developed by the same teacher who brought you recombinant DNA technology manipulatives. Now available are manipulates for teaching protein synthesis. Whether you have taught this content a thousand times or this is your first, you will find that all students can learn this material! What makes this kit different than any other kit is hands-on experience. This kit includes Teacher Manipulatives, Student Manipulatives, and Assessments. Shipping weight 7 lbs., dimensions 29" x 14" x 4".












MITOSIS MANIPULATIVE KIT

Using the same format as our popular Protein Synthesis and DNA kits, this hands-on set includes a demonstration teacher model and enough materials for students to construct their own models. None of the parts are consumable, so the kit can be used again and again. Includes a detailed instructional video to show teachers how to use all of the kit components.





















MEIOSIS MANIPULATIVE KIT

Teaching meiosis presents challenges for both teaching and learning because it is an abstract concept that requires visual and tactile models for most students to conceptualize. The exchange process of maternal and paternal alleles during cross-over is especially difficult without such a reference. A lot of time was spent designing, testing and refining this kit in classrooms to meet your needs. This kit will make teaching and learning meiosis much more enjoyable for you, just as it has for others. The kit inlcudes: Teacher Demonstration Models: Thirty large chromosomes arranged in five colorful sets that can seen on your board from the back of your classroom. Each set consists of a maternal and paternal homolog and four sister chromatids. Alleles and parental lineage are clearly identified. The fifth set has removable alleles for demonstrating cross-over. Student Models: Students carry out teacher directed assignments at their desk using their own smaller sets of chromosomes. There are no consumables so the kit can be used over and over again. Instructional CD and Teacher Manual: We will walk you through using the kit for the first time in an easy, familiar and pictorial slide show fashion. Don't worry if this is your first time teaching meiosis because absolutely everything you need is in the kit. Recommended student activity and assessment options are also included. We even provide a student activity sheet that you can copy. This is a complete package that makes the complex biological process of meiosis come alive in your classroom. It makes teaching fun! Shipping weight 7 lbs., dimensions 21" x 19" x 5".

Fischer Technical/United Scientific will be at the ILDA meeting

ILDA is the Independent Laboratory Distributors Association and is composed of several lab supply dealers, manufacturers, and importers.

United Scientific has joined ILDA and Raj Soni, president of United Scientific, will be joining me at this year's fall meeting in Louisville. ILDA is a group designed to help laboratory supply dealers best serve their customers through networking, educating, and introducing great manufacturers to dealers.

This meeting will feature the largest attendance ever seen at an ILDA meeting and we can't wait to attend. We'll be arriving Sunday morning and look forward to seeing many of our valued distributors and friends in the industry. Please contact me to set up a meeting if you plan on attending!

See you in Louisville!

Great new posters from Feenixx Publishing now available!

FEENIXX PUBLISHING NEW FOR 2011-2012

E110L History of the Earth

Geologists divide the history of the earth into four eons. Each is represented by a strip of illustrations and captions prefaced by an introduction. Our planet began as a sphere of molten metal. Heavier ores sunk to the center, resulting in gravity. As Earth cooled, its crust was formed. Other topics include the creation of the moon, the appearance of various atmospheres, the formation of continents, continental drift, snowball Earth, and the development of life. The third through fifth pictures on the bottom row reflect the period covered by Eras of Life. The last picture shows the near future - the results of humans destroying the environment.

E107L Introduction to Gemstones

It then presents an assortment of jewelry. The focus is on affordable items, including some that enthusiastic can make themselves. Next comes non-jewerly use of gemstones - collectible eggs, carvings, decorative slabs, and royal crowns. Of course we had to include a famous Faberge egg. The bottom row presents all the birthstones, in accordance with modern-day standards.

E109L Collectible Fossils

This poster presents the fossils that are widely available to private collectors. These include the well-known fish from Wyoming’s Green Mountain Formation, the famous ferns from St. Claire, Pennsylvania, the Chesapecten so abundant around the Chesapeake Bay and the petrified wood of the American Southwest. It includes such favorites as trilobites and coprolite. The latter is petrified dinosaur dung. Kids love talking about "dinosaur poo poo." Many outstanding specimens are shown. All are accompanied by an illustration of the prehistoric species, except in cases where appearance is unknown due to soft parts not fossilizing. In such cases, an illustration of a closely related modern species is presented. Interesting captions provide information and cite the geological period in which the species. A geological time chart puts everything in perspective.

A228L Arachnida

Arachnids differ from insects as they have eight legs. Insects have six. The title provides a comprehensive overview of the entire class / clade, which includes mites and tick, spiders, scorpions and other critters. Each group is introduced by informative text. An abundance of outstanding illustration show representative species.

A312L Sauropods

This exciting new posters shows all the largest species. Some were close to 200 feet long - the length of four school buses. Also shown are some of the more unique species. Mamenchisaurus had 31 foot long neck that comprised half of the body length of the animal. Camarasaurus vertebrae were hollowed out or riddled with passages and cavities, which inspired its name, "Chambered Lizard."

The unique body structure of these fascinating animals is explored. Could they rear upright like a horse. Other interesting topics are intelligence, teeth and diet, eggs, skin texture and social behavior.
Created with the help and cooperation of the American Museum of Natural History.

Contact me at JGura@fischertech.com for digital images or more information as to how to become a distributor or dealer for these great posters!

Have a great day!

John