Questions

Frequently asked

Ordering, shipping, kits, engineering, editions, and the digital side. If your question is not here, email howdy@argumentdriveninquiry.com or call 512-777-4099.

Ordering and payment

Do you accept purchase orders?
Yes. Schools and districts can order on a PO and we invoice on standard terms. Send it to the address on the Purchase Order Information page, or email it to us with your quote number.
Can we order tax-exempt?
Yes. Send your exemption certificate once and we put it on file, so qualifying orders are processed without sales tax from then on. Full steps are on the Tax Exempt Accounts page.
Can I get a formal quote for my purchasing office?
Yes. Build your cart and choose Request a Quote, and we send an itemized quote you can attach to a requisition. It can site your cooperative or contract number if you buy that way.
Do you have cooperative purchasing contracts?
Yes, including TIPS contract 250802 through Nutty Brown Press. The Cooperative Purchasing page lists every contract we are awarded on and how to reference it on a PO.
Do you sell wholesale to stores?
We work with a small number of approved retail and distribution partners. Schools and teachers do not need a wholesale account, since education pricing is already on the site. See the Wholesale and Resellers page.

Shipping and delivery

What does shipping cost?
Orders placed online ship at $5 flat rate, and free once the order is over $99. That rate is for online orders. Anything we quote, including purchase orders, large multi-campus orders, and anything moving by pallet or freight, has shipping figured into the quote so your purchasing office sees the real total up front.
How long until my order ships?
Most in-stock items leave our warehouse within three business days.

If your order includes something that's out of stock, we ship the in-stock items right away and send the rest when it arrives, typically within 3 to 6 weeks. Preorder items ship once the product is available. Either way, we'll email you if the timing changes, and you'll get tracking for each shipment as it goes out.
Can you deliver to multiple campuses?
Yes. Send the list of campuses with quantities and receiving contacts and we split the shipment and label it by campus.
Something arrived damaged or missing.
Tell us within 30 days of delivery and we replace it. Email howdy@argumentdriveninquiry.com with your order number and a photo.

Kits and materials

What comes in an investigation kit?
Everything the investigation calls for, pre-packed and labeled. Each kit page lists its contents. Kits are built to serve one class at a time: 24 students for Grades K to 5, 32 for Grades 6 to 12.
Do I rebuy the whole kit every year?
No. The durable equipment is meant to be reused. When the consumables run out you order the refill for that kit, which costs a fraction of the kit.
Do kits include safety equipment?
Goggles, gloves, and aprons are the campus responsibility. Each lesson lists the safety materials that investigation needs, and we sell the common ones as classroom supplies.
Where are the Safety Data Sheets?
On the Safety Data Sheets page. Every chemical we ship has a current SDS you can download and keep on file.

Engineering and STEM

Do you make engineering materials, or only science?
Both. Alongside the science investigations we publish Engineering Design Challenges and Engineering Camp in a Box, and they use the same argument-from-evidence work at the core.
What is the difference between an investigation and a design challenge?
An investigation answers a question: students design a method, collect data, and argue for the best explanation. A design challenge solves a problem: students work to constraints and criteria, build and test a solution, and argue for why it is the better design.
What is Engineering Camp in a Box?
A camp that arrives packed and ready: the design challenges, stocked toolboxes, camper materials, and a facilitator guide. It is built for K to 8 summer and after-school programs.
Do the design challenges need a makerspace?
No. They are written for a normal classroom with the materials in the kit. EDIT: confirm whether any challenge needs tools a campus would not already have.

Books, editions, and standards

What is the difference between the NGSS and TEKS editions?
They are different books, not one book with a different cover. Each is written to its own standards, with its own investigation set and alignment. Buy the edition your state uses.
Can I see a sample before buying?
Yes. Titles with a sample have a See a Sample button on the product page that opens the flipping book preview. Catalogs are free too.
Are materials available in Spanish?
Yes, for the K to 5 Spanish line: student workbooks, kits, and a Spanish bundle. Spanish science is still TEKS-aligned.

The Learning Hub

What is the Learning Hub?
The teacher-facing digital side: lesson plans, slides, videos, and assessment tools that go with the books. It is $5 per student per year.
What if a teacher leaves mid-year?
Access is tied to the campus agreement rather than to one person, so a replacement teacher can be added straight away.
Still stuck?Email us and a person answers. We are in Austin, Texas, on central time.
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