Maker of Top iPad App ‘Froggipedia’ Nabs TeachKind Award

PETA’s Humane Education Division Recognizes Teaching Tool That Helps Students Cut Out Dissection

For Immediate Release:
December 11, 2018

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

A Compassionate Company Award is on its way from TeachKind (PETA’s humane education division) to Designmate, the creator of virtual–frog dissection app Froggipedia, which was just named the top iPad app of 2018 by Apple.

“Dissection is a nightmare for animals, including frogs who are taken from their homes to be killed and cut apart,” says PETA Associate Director of Youth Campaigns Rachelle Owen. “TeachKind is recognizing Designmate for making it even easier for students to learn anatomy in a modern, humane way.”

TeachKind and PETA—whose mottos read, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—note that every year in the U.S., an estimated 10 million animals are used for classroom dissection. Frogs are often taken from the wild, and other animals—such as rats and mice—are bred by the millions in biological supply facilities and killed specifically for dissection.

As technology advances, educators are increasingly using non-animal educational tools—such as interactive apps and computer programs—to teach biology. These alternatives save teachers time and money, increase students’ confidence and satisfaction, and, in many cases, help students learn anatomy better than archaic animal-based exercises. For these reasons, the National Science Teachers Association endorses the use of modern, non-animal methods as replacements for dissection.

Designmate will receive a framed certificate. For more information, please visit PETA.org/TeachKind.