A living science unit your students will actually remember: transparent eggs on a windowsill, eyes appearing by the end of the week, a heartbeat under a hand lens, and fry by week two. I would love to help you bring it to your room, so the kit costs one cent plus $4.99 shipping. Five dollars all together, and that is the whole price.
Why medaka beat the butterfly kit
Butterflies give a class two weeks and fly away. Medaka give a class the whole story: transparent eggs where students watch a vertebrate assemble itself day by day, a hatch they will cheer for, fry that grow into a permanent class pet or go home with families, and a species with genuine scientific star power, medaka were the first vertebrate to mate in space, and they helped prove Mendel's genetics applied to animals. The species has been a laboratory favorite for a century for exactly the reasons it suits a classroom: hardy, forgiving, and fascinating up close.
The Classroom Hatch Kit
The kit is at least 10 fertilized eggs from my outdoor lines in mixed varieties, checked before packing so every egg counted is viable. Alongside the eggs, my Hatch Journal is a free printable guide written for students: what to look for, when to look for it, and the ten-second fertile-or-not check kids can do themselves. Your room supplies a shallow container, dechlorinated water, and a warm windowsill. Eggs are collected fresh during laying season, roughly spring through early fall, so fall and spring semesters both work.
Download the Hatch Journal (free PDF), whether you order a kit or just want it for your class.
One cent, honor system
The Classroom Hatch Kit costs one penny plus $4.99 shipping, five dollars all together, because I would rather have medaka hatching in classrooms than make margin on teachers. And like any order here, shipping is free at $150 or more, so if you are stocking the room with plants, a snail crew, or a class pet setup at the same time, the eggs truly cost one cent. Verification is the honor system either way: at checkout, enter your school or district email so I know the kit is headed to a classroom. No forms, no waiting, no back and forth. I trust teachers, and one kit per classroom keeps it fair.
When the kit shows Add to Cart, eggs are in season and collected fresh to ship. When it shows unavailable, I am between collections, check back or email me and I will tell you when the next batch is coming. And if you want help planning the container or timing the unit, that email reaches me directly, free, whether or not you ever order.
The two rules
Nothing gets released, ever. Hatched fish stay as class pets or go home with families, and every kit's guide says so in student-sized words. No classroom animal belongs in a creek, and medaka are no exception. Plan the adoption day before you order; it is a great end-of-unit event.
Ship to a staffed door. Kits ship Mondays so they arrive fresh during the school week. Have the front office expecting the envelope, and plan around breaks, an egg kit cannot wait out a holiday in a mailroom.
What it teaches
Life cycles and development, observed rather than read about. Data practice, students chart eggs, eyes, and hatches day by day with the free Hatch Journal. Genetics, mixed-variety eggs mean the fry color up differently, which opens the door to why. Ecosystem thinking, if the class keeps a permanent setup with plants and a snail. And responsibility, a class pet that depends on the room. The family version of this argument is in my library, and the Medaka Library backs your unit with the full free library.
Bring medaka to your room for $5 flat
One cent for the kit, $4.99 for the shipping, and that is everything. While eggs are in season, add it to your cart, enter your school email at checkout, and your class is hatching a week later. Questions or planning help any time: chris@fireflymedaka.com reaches me directly.
Get the KitSponsor a classroom
Most teachers pay for class supplies out of their own pocket. If you'd like to help, you can sponsor a kit. The kit itself costs only a penny. What costs money is the shipping and the packing materials, which comes to about $5 per kit, and that is what a sponsorship covers. I mail the kit to a teacher at no charge to them, so more rooms get to watch medaka hatch.
- Your name here
At checkout you can add your name, or your family's name, and I'll put it on a fish in the sponsor list below. It's optional.
Want to help one specific teacher? A gift card is the better route. You can send it to them by email, and they can use it on a kit and anything else in the shop. Each code works on one order, so it goes furthest when they add something to the kit.
This is a purchase that helps cover classroom kits, not a charitable donation, and it is not tax-deductible. Kits ship on Mondays when eggs are in season. I put every sponsorship toward classroom kits, and if funds ever run ahead of requests, they roll over to the next season.
Teachers: request a sponsored kit
When a sponsor has covered a kit, you can request it here at no cost, in the order requests arrive. One kit per classroom, and I may reply to confirm your school email. Hatched fish are never released into natural waterways.
No sponsored kits are ready right now. Keep checking back for a free kit. If you would rather not wait for a sponsor, you can pre-order a kit above for $5.