Welcome to Growing Beyond Earth!  Thank you for watching our video. We are so proud of this work that allows students from across the nation to contribute data and ideas that fuel NASA plant research actively.   

Please feel free to add a comment, suggestion, or a kind word. 

Amy 

Thank you Amy and team. I love this project and have a number of questions. Let me start with these: 1) how are school sites chosen and what do they need to bring to the table; and 2) if there is a standard for sites' research (e.g., fidelity to procedures), how are you supporting the school sites to meet those standards?

Hi, Catherine~  Thanks for visiting our page. 

To answer your questions

1) Schools are chosen based on their interest.  We don't really market the program.  The teachers are required to go through a 2-hour training prior to getting their materials. The training is led by our team with the help of NASA research Dr. Gioia Mass and Jacob Torres.  We host several virtual recruitment/information events each summer for those who are interested.  Check out the website for upcoming dates www.fairchildgarden.org/gbe 

2) Schools follow detailed research protocols that provide all of the information and resources needed to complete the project.  We provide each school with a unique data collection tool, (basically a google sheet) with very specific information that is required to be collected.  Those fields are coded so that the students must enter using thing the unit of measure we require for consistency.  

3) To support those sites, we provide teacher training, months "Chats with the Scientists", and Open Office Hours for general questions and resources on our website.  Resources include papers, how-to videos, and a notes section on the data sheet.  Finally, all of the materials are provided free of charge to the schools. 

That looks like a wonderful, real world project in which students learn valuable life skills. Is this an on-going project or will it be ending in the next year?

Thanks!  Growing Beyond Earth is ongoing.  We received another 3 years of funding from NASA to grow the program!  Please share our information with any middle or high schools you work with.  We offer information sessions over the summer for any new schools.  Visit us at www. fairichidgarden.org/GBE

This is great!  Are there any follow up projects that use a similar collaboration with scientists or projects where students conduct their own research?  Also, what standards are being addressed with this unit? I suspect scientific practices but wanted to confirm.  Thank you!

Being able to connect your project with a real-world (out of this world?) need is a great motivating factor for students. I wonder what it would cost for a school to create the plant habitat on its own (for future dissemination).  Also, do you use the Matt Damon movie The Martian, where he grows potatoes on Mars, to motivate students?

What an incredible project! The students' excitement is contagious and inspiring. 

Thanks for watching our video.  The aspect of this program that is the most impactful on students is the fact that they conduct authentic research that has real-world implications.  They know why they are conducting the research, for who they are collecting data, and how their data is being used.  This is the foundation of all of our education programs at Fairchild.

The Martian Movie come out as we were beginning this project.  Our NASA scientists were advisors on the move. 

Thank you so much for sharing your work!  I love what you said about the importance of students doing authentic, real-world research.  This is such an exciting project!

This is fantastic! I love that the students are so involved and get to actually grow something. How will this be sustained past the grant? Will the curriculum and instructions be available afterward for others to recreate a version on their own?

Your program look great!! With food costs rising higher and higher, it's especially helpful to teach more kids how to grow their own foo -- be it in space, their community garden, or the pots in their own kitchen.

On a less serious note, what's your favorite edible plant? Or favorite thing to cook with edible plants :) ?