OUTREACH: WHO'S USING THE
SEEDS? |
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 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.”
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 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.
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 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.
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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.
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RIVER HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY
SECOND GRADE CLASSES VISIT CPL
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JOE ROMAGNANO GIVES
PRESENTATION TO GROUP
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PLANTING MICRO-TINA TOMATOES
AND EARLIGREEN PEAS
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TIM HUDELSON TALKS TO A GROUP
ABOUT PLANTING TECHNIQUES
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TIM HUDELSON WITH A GROUP
IN FRONT OF A GROWTH CHAMBER
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JASON TEW DISCUSSES HOW
A GROWTH CHAMBER WORKS
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