GROWING BEYOND EARTH®: PLANT THE FUTURE OF SPACE TRAVEL THROUGH FAIRCHILD TROPICAL BOTANIC GARDEN’S INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP
(Miami, FL) AUGUST 21, 2023 – From the vibrant heart of Miami, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden announces the open registration to its widely successful unique initiative, Growing Beyond EarthⓇ (GBE), designed in collaboration with NASA. This groundbreaking project elevates classrooms into space labs where teachers and students worldwide contribute to the pivotal mission of sustaining long-duration space travel.
Pioneering the world of citizen science, GBE by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden encourages middle and high schools students globally to conduct plant experiments that mirror the Vegetable Production System (Veggie) on the International Space Station. In its seventh year, GBE connects over 350 schools and more than 40,000 students and teachers. This collaboration has yielded hundreds of thousands of data points and tested 180 edible plant varieties. Growing Beyond Earth 2022 Misome/Light Experiment Results: Trial 1 Table Final Graph Final
“Fairchild’s Growing Beyond EarthⓇ initiative stands at the unique intersection of education and space exploration,” says Carl E. Lewis, Ph.D., Director at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. “We are immensely proud to contribute to the future of space travel and collaborate on this mission with NASA.”
The GBE Innovation Studio, nestled within Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, is the first of its kind. The Studio is the world’s inaugural Makerspace in a botanic garden, offering workshops and classes in design thinking, 3D printing, and beyond. This active, hands-on approach facilitates the community’s contribution to ongoing food production and botanical research.
GBE extends its reach beyond Florida, linking students, teachers, and researchers across the country. Participants have the opportunity to present their findings directly to researchers and administrators from NASA during the live, virtual Student Research Symposium.
Teachers nationwide and overseas are warmly invited to join this flourishing community of citizen scientists. Upcoming GBE training dates are as follows:
- Saturday, September 9, 2023 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm (EDT)
- Wednesday, September 13, 2023 – 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm (EDT)
- Thursday, September 14, 2023 – 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm (EDT)(Spanish)
By participating in GBE, students can create original experiments, analyze data, communicate results with researchers, and collaborate with students nationwide. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden provides all necessary materials, instructions, and resources for the project.
For further information or to register, please contact gbe@fairchildgarden.org or visit fairchildgarden.org/gbe. Or follow GBE on X @GrowBeyondEarth.
This project is based upon work supported by NASA Grant No. NNH21ZDA001N-SciAct. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
High Res Images Available:
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VIDEO:
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