While AAVS celebrates humane science education every day, we are especially excited because The Science Bank has reached its milestone 25th anniversary! A free lending library of dissection alternatives, as well as other humane education tools, The Science Bank was created by AAVS’s Animalearn department in 1996 as a solution for students and educators needing non-animal resources in science education.

Watch our fun video honoring The Science Bank’s 25 years!

Today, The Science Bank also receives inquiries from parents, teachers, school boards, university professors, science camps, and more, offering hundreds of animal and human anatomy resources, from hands-on models to the latest virtual reality technology, so that students at all education levels can learn biology without harming animals. Now, there’s not just interest in alternatives, there’s excitement!

We’re also so proud how The Science Bank became the go-to resource for educators facing the challenge of teaching remotely during the pandemic by developing a special resource guide on its website, featuring virtual alternatives that are available online, many for free or at a low cost. Additionally, to help under-resourced schools in Philadelphia, the Animalearn Philly Schools Partnership was launched, teaming up with Science Bank partner, Merge, to provide two public schools with the popular Merge EDU platform, an augmented reality science education system.

Every year, The Science Bank continues to introduce more and more students and teachers to humane science education—that’s worth celebrating!