Hydroponic & Aquaponic Farming Systems, Grades PreK-12 

In this workshop, global environmental issues associated with factory farming will serve as a launching point for investigations into the structure and function of plants and aquamarine life on both the micro and macroscopic levels, raising simple and complex questions about the movement of matter and energy within ecosystems, as well as the human impacts of the technologies used to control and optimize the lifecycle of various plants and fish found in fresh, as well as processed foods.  By the end of day one, participants will begin an engineering design challenge to create a self-contained hydroponic system for growing specific plants under unique conditions in a range of environments, each with their own set of problems.  The hydroponic systems will be explored as a way to introduce engineering notebooks that can be used to carry out long-term investigations, and an iterative, evidence based approach to designing and modeling solutions.  By the end of day two, participants will be designing, constructing and troubleshooting their own personal aquaponics systems, which can be taken back to their classrooms and scaled up or down - even on a shoestring budget - fostering iSTEM experiences linking bundles of PEs from across all four core disciplines in NGSS.