The Future of Indoor Hydroponics STEM Exhibit

We were honored to be invited to introduce indoor hydroponics at the STEM Expo during the NC Technology Students Association’s State Conference  last week.

What did we learn at the NC Technology Students Association’s State Conference at our indoor hydroponics STEM Booth?

First, we had to decide on the most engaging approach for our Aquatree Hydroponics Exhibit.

The Aquatree Garden Indoor Hydroponics for STEM Students Booth Setup

For our Exhibit, we brought two One-level Aquatree Gardens. Each One-Level Garden has 5 separate growing trays.  

For one Aquatree Garden, we grew Microgreens. Since they grow so fast, we planted the first tray 5 days before the conference, then planted a tray each day leading up to it. So, the students could see what the microgreens daily progress from 24 hours after planting through 5 days after planting.

For the other Aquatree Garden, we grew lettuce. Starting 5 weeks out from the Expo, we planted one tray per week. So, the students could easily see the difference in the lettuce’s weekly growth.

What we learned from exhibiting at the STEM Expo

1. Great Approach for the Classroom: Planting 1 microgreens tray per day or 1 lettuce tray per week is a great approach for teachers in the classroom looking to keep students engaged over a 9-week project.  

   1. For the Microgreens Project, Day 1 – Day 5, plant one tray of microgreens. Day 7-12: harvest one tray of microgreens. Every day the students come in, there is a change in the plants, and in just 7 days, they are harvesting.

   2. For the Lettuce Project, Week 1 – Week 5 Plant one tray of lettuce, and Week 4 – Week 9 Harvest one tray of lettuce.

2. The lights, running water, and greenery were big attractions that kept our Indoor Hydroponics STEM booth busy. The TSA students were intrigued by growing plants without soil and had lots of great questions.

3. I was surprised that many of these excelling technology students were not familiar with hydroponics. The future sustainability of growing our food locally within controlled indoor environments would greatly benefit from some of these TSA students getting excited about Agtech.  

4. It was awesome interacting with students who dream of positively impacting others by innovating with future technology. It was obvious that attending the NC TSA State Conference helped them explore many avenues to improve their communities and the world.

5. We had a couple of the TSA students pitch ideas to help us gain more exposure for our Aquatree Hydroponic Systems, so we could help teach more people to grow sustainably locally or at home. These students are innovative and are growing up in a world where the possibilities feel limitless. We left feeling energized about where this next generation is headed.

Want to introduce Indoor Hydroponics in your STEM Classrooms?

Aquatree hydroponic systems are in 100s of classrooms at all levels from elementary to universities in 28+ states.

Aquatree Gardens grows abundant crops quickly in a compact space that fits in any classroom. The Mobile Aquatree 5-Level Towers give students the opportunity to grow at scale in a compact vertical space.

Click here to submit an Hydroponics Education Quote Request.