Adventures in Ethics and Science

You already know that we're working with DonorsChoose to raise some money for public school teachers who are trying to give their students the engaging educational experiences they deserve. You also know that our benevolent overlords at Seed will be randomly selecting some donors to receive nifty prizes (details about this to be posted as soon as I get them).

As I did last year, I'm going sweeten the deal by offering some incentive to everyone who donates to my challenge. And I'm adding a few new options this time around. Here's what you can get:

An original (and probably nerdy) poem, written just for you:

For a $10 donation, I'll write you a poem. You get to specify the topic of the poem and the poetic form (or the famous poem you'd like me to use as the model for the poem I'm writing for you).

You have your choice of keeping the poem all to yourself, posting it on your blog or website, or having me post it here (as a tribute to your generosity) on my blog. This year, I promise to get the poems delivered before the end of November!

Original artwork by the sprogs:

For a $25 donation, you can commission a piece of artwork from the talented Free-Ride offspring. Again, you specify the subject (and any favorite colors you'd like them to use).

I'll email you the JPEG or, if you're a Luddite like me, I can send you the art by snail mail. And, if you like, we can post the picture here on the blog to recognize your generosity.

**Donate $35 and you can get a sprog-illustrated poem!**

A collection of Friday Sprog Blogging temporary tattoos:

If you like sprog artwork enough to wear it, a $30 donation will get you some sprog art in temporary tattoo form. I'll mail 15 temporary tattoos (5 each of cow-chicken, harp seal, and a yet-to-be-created collaborative design by my talented offspring) to wherever you get yourself dressed.

The basic concepts post you've been wanting me to write:

For a $40 donation, you can tell me which basic concept (in chemistry, philosophy, or some other realm of my expertise, please) I ought to post about next. And lo, I shall write that post, and if you so wish it, recognize you as the patron of that post.

An after school experiment:

You suggest it, the Free-Ride offspring and I will test it! For a $50 donation to my challenge, the sprogs and I will figure out how to translate your idea to an experiment that can safely and enjoyably be conducted in the home. (Obviously, this puts some constraints on us -- radioactive materials are probably not going to fly -- so give me two ideas and we'll make one of them work.)

We will document the experiment and post it here, of course.

I hope at least one of these options is tempting you.

To get in on these little tokens of my appreciation, go to my challenge and make a donation to one (or more) of the projects you see listed there. Then, when you get your email confirmation from DonorsChoose, forward it to me (dr.freeride@gmail.com) along with the information about the kind of "thank you" gift you'd like.

And in the event that individual incentives are not your cup of tea, I'm also going to offer something ... bigger should you all, collectively, get me to my overall goal. More information on that soon!