Forty seventh-grade students at Rainbow Middle School are taking part in a NASA-supported research program that gives them the opportunity to contribute real data to scientists studying how plants can be grown in space.
The students, from Ben Simmons’ science class, began this week working with Challenger Learning Center of Northeast Alabama through Growing Beyond Earth, a classroom-based citizen science program developed by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in partnership with NASA, according to a press release from the Challenger center.
Two tabletop plant-growth chambers have been installed at the Challenger Learning Center, where students will conduct experiments, collect data and submit their findings to NASA’s Space Crop Production team at the Kennedy Space Center, the press release said.
The research supports NASA’s work to identify crops that could eventually be grown during long-duration space missions to the International Space Station, Moon and Mars.
Growing Beyond Earth began in 2015 and uses plant habitats modeled after the Vegetable Production System, or Veggie, aboard the International Space Station, according to the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden website.
The program now operates in 500 middle and high schools across 48 states and 10 countries, the website said. Students have tested hundreds of edible plant varieties as part of the research, with some varieties advancing to further spaceflight testing.
At Challenger, a rotating group of Rainbow Middle students will visit the center each week to check the growth chambers, take measurements and submit data. The students will spend about 20 minutes checking each chamber.
The entire seventh grade participated in a kickoff event and required program training, which included students from Austria, Slovakia and Taiwan.
During the first semester, students will follow a NASA-developed research protocol. During the second semester, they will design and conduct their own experiments and submit a research proposal, following a process similar to that used by professional researchers.
“This partnership puts Rainbow Middle School students at the center of real, ongoing NASA research, not a simulation of it,” said Dr. Farrah Hayes, executive director of Challenger Learning Center of Northeast Alabama. “Growing Beyond Earth is exactly the kind of hands-on, authentic STEM experience Challenger exists to provide.”
Chad Strawn, education coordinator at Challenger, said the program gives students an opportunity to experience the scientific process firsthand.
“What makes this program so powerful is that students aren’t just learning about the scientific method, they’re living it,” Strawn said in the press release. “From forming a hypothesis to collecting data to eventually designing their own experiment, students are doing the same work as professional researchers.”
Rainbow Middle Principal Allison Lee said the program builds on the school’s partnership with Challenger Learning Center.
“We are thrilled to give our seventh-graders the chance to be part of active NASA research,” Lee said in the press release. “Our students will walk away from this having done real science that supports NASA’s mission, and that is an experience that will stay with them long after seventh grade.”
The program is provided at no cost to the school or participating students. Challenger is covering the cost of the growth chambers and supplies, while Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and NASA provide equipment, curriculum materials and training.
Students also will have opportunities to participate in monthly “Chat with the Scientists” sessions and present their research findings at the annual Growing Beyond Earth Student Research Symposium.
Challenger Learning Center plans to expand the program to additional classrooms and schools in its service area in future school years.
