This thesis began as a search for evidence to support the hypothesis that children using live animals as interactive learning tools in middle school classrooms would have a higher understanding of biological concepts than those who did not use live animals in their classroom. Educational invertebrate kits including three sets of hands-on lessons using live animals were developed for this project. Experimental groups of students used live animals as a part of their learning as complementary control groups learned similar concepts without the use of animals. Four (4) Middle School teachers from around Iowa participated along with over 200 6-8th grade students. Data showed that no significant difference existed between the test scores of control and experimental groups as a whole; however, interesting differences surfaced regarding gender differences.