OUTREACH SUMMARY

  SUPER-DWARF SEED
    INFORMATION


  SEED REQUESTS

  WHO'S USING
    THE SEEDS?


  NCERA-101 INSTRUMENT
    PACKAGE








 

OUTREACH: WHO'S USING THE SEEDS?


In Fairfax County, Virginia, fourth grade students used Apogee wheat seeds in a living seed necklace. The students wore a small plastic jewelry bag attached to yarn with a cotton ball and a small amount of water around their neck. The seeds germinated over the course of a few days to a week.
Adria Bordas of the the Fairfax County Virginia Cooperative Extension Office says, “the kids are so excited, they actually learn the whole process of seed germination since it occurs right before their eyes in a matter of a few days.”
 


 
Our seeds have been distributed to many educational establishments including NASA's Space Camp. At Space Camp, our dwarf crop plants are grown in a realistic International Space Station Columbus module setting. Space Camp trainees from grades 4-6 plant the seeds in various types of hydroponics systems, then measure the plants' growth, observe overall plant health, and even prepare microscope slides of plant cells. Similar training is provided in the summer for teachers of grades K-12. A more advanced space agriculture/advanced life support training is offered to 4H members and their adult mentors, and to weeklong middle school trainees. The middle schoolers test the pH and nutrient levels in the water and monitor CO2 levels in the Space Station module. Advanced teacher workshops and "Space Gardening" workshops are offered for the public.
 

January 2005, Crop Physiology Ph.D. candidate Joe Romagnano and Aerospace Engineering undergraduate Vance Hansen visited a science fair at Adams Elementary School in Logan, Utah.  At the CPL display, young scientists viewed an actual plant growth chamber from the International Space Station and real-live dwarf crop plants.  Dwarf crop seeds were available for young scientists to take home for their very own experiments and a display board offered pictures of the various kinds of research projects we do at the CPL.
 

The Crop Physiology Lab was visited by two classes of second graders from River Heights Elementary (Logan, UT).  Forty-nine children toured our facility (with Tim Hudelson and Jason Tew as their tour guides), listened to a presentation by Joe Romagnano, planted MicroTina and Earligreen seeds of their very own, AND took home their very own t-shirt.
 
RIVER HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY
SECOND GRADE CLASSES VISIT CPL
JOE ROMAGNANO GIVES
PRESENTATION TO GROUP
PLANTING MICRO-TINA TOMATOES
AND EARLIGREEN PEAS
TIM HUDELSON TALKS TO A GROUP
ABOUT PLANTING TECHNIQUES
TIM HUDELSON WITH A GROUP
IN FRONT OF A GROWTH CHAMBER
JASON TEW DISCUSSES HOW
A GROWTH CHAMBER WORKS
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Last Updated: 10.20.08
USU Crop Physiology Laboratory
1410 North 800 East   |  Logan, UT 84341
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