Abington Heights Middle School has an innovative science and technology teacher, Steven Lott, who spearheaded the construction of a greenhouse for a hands-on approach to learning the fundamental science concepts. His courses are designed to be fun and educational, allowing students to learn in a manner not restricted to standard classroom learning. In both the 6th grade Ecology and Pollution and 7th grade Plant Biology classes, students grow plants as part of the curriculum.
Incorporating plants into a school curriculum provides for more than simply an understanding of plant biology. AEIO provided funds to install a 16’ by 20’ permanent greenhouse structure on the grounds of the Abington Heights Middle School. This new greenhouse has lead to a vast improvement in the diversity of activities that are provided to the classes when working with plants. It also makes it possible to provide new after school activities. The greenhouse is used primarily for the 7th grade “Hydroponics and Aeroponics” class.
Four sessions of the class use the greenhouse each school year to grow a variety of plants, including radishes, Wisconsin Fast Plants, and Swiss chard. The primary project for these students is the comparison study of how well plants grow using different growing technologies, these being the hydroponics and aeroponics setups. They learn new ways to measure growth rates of plants, including leaf surface area and dry plant biomass.
