The Foundation for Wareham Education awarded a total of $7,185 in grants to teachers on Tuesday, funding everything from reptiles for a high school classroom to a junior engineering club at the middle school, and field trips to Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art and Museum of Science.

"This really makes a difference in the lives of the kids," Foundation for Wareham Education board member Geoff Worrell told the grant recipients, school staffers, and community members gathered at Pipers on Main Street for the foundation's "Toast the Teachers" fundraiser.

The nonprofit was founded in 2009 to assist teachers and students in Wareham Public Schools by awarding small grants that help purchase materials and fund other educational opportunities beyond what teachers' budgets allow.

Since then, the foundation has awarded thousands of dollars in grants. On Tuesday, 16 teachers received grants that will fund 15 projects.

"It's nice to have people's support," said Rebecca Gakidis, who is serving as the foundation's president this year. "We've come a long way."

A favorite of the committee's this time around? Wareham High School zoology teacher Craig Berriault's gecko project.

Berriault, who admitted he's "a reptile guy," keeps snakes, lizards, and other creatures at home, and wanted to give the upperclassmen in his zoology classes a hands-on learning opportunity. He decided to raise crested geckos in the classroom, because they're easy to feed and don't require extensive heating.

"I purchased a handful of them, and the kids really seemed to like them," Berriault noted.

Of course, the geckos did what geckos do... and now, that "handful" has multiplied to more than 40 geckos. (Four babies hatched over Thanksgiving break!)

Berriault received $330 to help fund the program last year, and another $250 from the foundation this year.

"It helps out," he said.

Students take the geckos home to care for them over school breaks. Some of the lizards even have names.

"It's something different than listening to a teacher talk all day!" Berriault said with a smile.

Minot Forest Elementary teacher Laura Pol's project hatched earlier this year, though not from an egg. Pol received more than $1,400 from the foundation to help her expand a "book swap" she instituted at the school.

Minot Forest has been without a library for more than five years, and that has presented a big problem.

"I had students who didn't know what a library was," Pol explained, adding that many students don't have access to books at home. "I'm thrilled with [the foundation's] generosity."

With the support of the Village PTA and Principal Joan Seamans, Pol stocked two rolling carts with books for all of the elementary grades. The foundation's grant will allow her to purchase a cart for each grade level, so students can easily find and pick out a book to take home and read.

"A lot of the kids are just in awe," Pol said. "It's been a lot of fun."

Students can take books home and return them, and drop off books they're not reading anymore so their peers can enjoy them.

"If a child finds a book they love," Pol added, "they can keep it forever."

Do you have gently-used children's books you'd like to donate to the book swap? Drop them off in the red wagon in the lobby of Minot Forest Elementary.

Couldn't make it to the fundraiser? Donations may be made directly to the Foundation for Wareham Education, P.O. Box 1654 Onset, MA 20558.

For more information about the foundation, visit www.foundationforwarehameducation.org.