This has been a great experiment and we have learnt a lot about plant germination and conditions for potentially growing plants in space. We received the following message from the Canadian Space Agency
Congratulations
You have completed the germination experiment of the Tomatosphere™ program. Please feel free to continue growing your tomatoes and measuring other variables. You may even send the plants home with the students for transplanting into their home gardens,if applicable. In past years students ate their tomatoes, made salsa with them or donated their "harvest" to those in need in the local community. We ask that you please compost or recycle materials where possible.
For your information, the seeds you received were all Heinz 9478 F1 seeds. They were grouped as follows:
Tomatosphere™ uses the excitement of space exploration to teach the scientific method. You will study the effects of the space environment on the growth of food that will one day support long-term human space travel.
Your class has two packages of seeds labeled “A” and “B”, and each contains about 33 seeds.
One package of seeds is a “control” (untreated) group and the other is the "treatment" group, which was subjected to a simulated space environment of -80°C in a vacuum just like space. The simulation is close to like what might happen to the seeds if there was a hole in the storage system on a spacecraft with astronauts going to Mars! Will they still grow?!
We will be planting the seeds and waiting to see how many grow (germinate). Will more grow from group A or from group B?
Why are we doing this?To have enough food for survival on Mars one day, astronauts will need to grow some of their own food. The tomato is one of the candidate crops for a “farm on Mars.”
Through photosynthesis, plants use light and the carbon dioxide exhaled by humans and give off oxygen to the air that is needed for survival. Plus we get to eat them. Yum!
Click HERE to find out about how the seeds were treated and the story behind their space journey!
Canadian Space Agency astronaut, Jeremy Hansen, is no stranger to our classroom. Last year we Skyped with him on Earth Day. Earlier this year he performed one of our experiments aboard Aquarius, an undersea laboratory and we had some interesting results. Needless to say I am a huge fan. I found his first Ted Talk on YouTube very inspiring and hopefully you will too.
"I urge each of you to think big, dream bigger and explore without limits. Because my fellow explorers you each have value and you are unlimited." - Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremy Hansen
We have had quite a unique experience to follow this week. One of Canada's very own astronauts, Jeremy Hansen, has let us tag along on his adventures in training for a future mission in space. I have had a lot of kids turned on to science and wanting to be astronauts when they grow up. Amazing!!
NEEMO 19 team getting ready for their last day aboard Aquarius
Jeremy has been spending a week as a member of NEEMO. "NEEMO is a NASA mission that sends groups of astronauts, engineers and scientists to live in Aquarius, the world's only undersea research station, for up to three weeks at a time. The Aquarius habitat and its surroundings provide a convincing analog for space exploration" - NASA
"Back alive with all body parts! Night dive as cool as expected. Luminescence, feeding frenzy, squid..." - JH
Before he spent his week under the sea he put a shout out for simple experiments to do, both at sea level and 19 meters below the surface of the ocean near Key Largo, Florida. See more about it and the lab we challenged him to try HERE.
He accepted our challenge and gave it a try on the surface before going into the deep. See all about it HERE.
The results were not at all the same as they were here in Edmonton. This prompted great discussion about the scientific method and variables that may have altered the experiment. I always tell kids that science is a process and most of the time your results are inconclusive but lead to refining the experiment and coming up with an even better plan.
Yesterday he gave our experiment a go while aboard Aquarius with almost three times the atmospheric pressure pushing down on them!! Here is what he discovered.
The scientific process at work! So now we have to come up with an even better experiment with more controlled variables and see if we can do it ourselves here in Beaumont. I sent this blog post out into the Twitterverse and broke the internet. Seriously my phone went CRAZY with notifications.
Awesome work @AmandaGMerriman ! Just had time 2 read this.Great work taking inconclusive science & turning into great lesson.Wonderful!
— Jeremy R. Hansen (@Astro_Jeremy) September 14, 2014
Thank you again @Astro_Jeremy. Life is full of these teachable moments & this entire process has really brought our lessons to life!
— Alberta Sci Teacher (@AmandaGMerriman) September 14, 2014
Here are a few more pictures Jeremy took while out exploring the ocean. So cool.
"This wave of small blue Creole Wrasses surrounded us causing a feeding frenzy of Groupers and Barracuda." - JH
"Oh baby! Night dive time. A taste of what's in store just swam by. What you can't see won't hurt you right..." - JH (Anyone else hear Heart singing "Barracuda" while reading this??)
Now this is just for fun. William Shatner and Chris Hadfield became Twitter friends while Hadfield was aboard the ISS last year. Jeremy Hansen was trained and gave ground support for Hadfield and his mission. So from science fiction to science fact, this is just funny ...
@AmandaGMerriman@ReefBase good ? Debriefs, cleaning, slept, packing, sharing stories & a bunch of laughing. Time 4 reflection as well.
— Jeremy R. Hansen (@Astro_Jeremy) September 14, 2014
We have been following Canadian astronaut, Jeremy Hansen, during his astronaut training. His latest adventure is with NEEMO 19 aboard the under-water capsule, Aquarius. Read more about it here. You can view live action webcams both inside and outside of Aquarius here. Today there was a Google+ hangout where they answered questions, a few of mine included. I am Alberta Sci Teacher on Twitter and one of my questions is answered around 6min 30sec. See more details here.
@Astro_Jeremy@Astro_Andreas - The perfect way to explain it. Every kid in my class asked "Why doesn't it fill up with water?". Merci!
— Alberta Sci Teacher (@AmandaGMerriman) September 10, 2014
My science classes have had some pretty amazing opportunities over the past two years. One of the highlights of last year was Skyping with Major Jeremy Hansen on Earth Day. (See more HERE).
With a new start to the school year my students have been diving into learning about the scientific method. We have been learning about Jeremy Hansen's training in preparation for an amazing adventure under the sea with NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations).
Jeremy put a call out to people to come up with some experiments he can do "under pressure".
@Astro_Jeremy@csa_asc My class has come up with a few good ideas! We will be sending you them ASAP! Do you have gummy bears under the sea?
Last year we did an experiment using gummy bears to demonstrate osmosis. Please click HERE for more details about the experiment and osmosis.)
My students wanted to take it one step further and find out if the rate of osmosis is different when the experiment is performed under the sea, at sea-level, and maybe one day even up aboard the ISS. So here is the experiment. We measured the length of a gummy bear and then placed it in a baggy of water. I normally do this in a petri-dish or bowl but we were thinking that if this experiment to be run with as little equipment as possible. We measured the bear every half an hour for a three hour period. If I were to do this again I would perhaps measure once an hour for half of a day. We decided to only do the experiment with tap water instead of both tap water and salt water because it would make it more complicated to do aboard Aquarius, although the results would be interesting. Finally we would compare the growth/size of our observations here on dry land and on Aquarius after the same amount of time.
After 2 hours
After 3 hours
Our hypothesis is that the rate of osmosis will be greater (faster) aboard Aquarius due to the difference in pressure (despite it being regulated for those aboard). If it were to be done, hypothetically, on the ISS we would hypothesis that the rate would be slower due micro-gravity and the lack of pressure (despite it being regulated for those aboard).
The applications of these observations are important as we use these concepts when we look at agriculture, water purification, and the needs to the human body. These are all vital to learning how to expand our reach into the universe. Read more about:
Mr. Morin has a friend who owns the local BPs who went to see Chris Hadfield play at a concert earler this year. He caught this pick that Chris tossed into the crowed and Mario convinced him to give it to him for me. So awesome! MERCI!!
This is a photo that my friend Greta had taken with Chris Hadfiled. Her and I taught together in Monterrey, Mexico in over ten years ago. She recognized Chris from my posts and had a conversation with him. Here is what she said:
"Hi Amanda! How are you doing darling? I know it's been ages, but I hope you're doing wonderful :) Today I met Commander Chris Hadfield on one my flights. He is an incredibly nice person in real life as well. I told him I knew a teacher in Edmonton who's a huge fan, and he knew exactly who I was talking about! He said something along the lines
"It's teachers like Amanda who help turn kids into great people." I thought I'd share this with you and hope it makes your day Big hug to you and yours! xoxo"
Today is the last day that Space Oddity by Chris Hadfiled is available on YouTube. David Bowie gave him one year to rock this song and now it's time to say goodbye. Or just watch it here.
Also this just made me laugh. #YEGHAPPY with all of our friends at CTV, Astral Media, our local and provincial government, and a few other local celebrities dancing and being HAPPY! Click on the photo to play the video.
Space Rocks! We are learning about the Earth and specifically about rocks and minerals this week. Almost everything we learn in science can be linked to space and the amazing innovations aboard the ISS. Our very own Canadian astronaut, Jeremy Hansen, is learning about geology to prepare himself for future endeavors. See HERE for more details.
CSA Astronaut Jeremy Hansen Performs Geology Field Training From July 16 to 25, 2013
Jeremy Hansen apprendre la géologie en l'artique
pour futures missions spatiales.
Les roches fantastiques! Voici une copie du résumé du thème 2 que nous avons fait en classe aujourd'hui.
La Nouvelle Beaumont News published a great article in the paper all about our class Skyping with Jeremy Hansen. I loved reading about what the kids thought of the experience. Thank you LNBN! If you want to read the colour online version click here
It is as simple as that. Twitter is awesome! I have been using Twitter to follow a variety of people to keep up with current events and innovations in science and technology that I can use in my class. It is a great social networking tool because you can share what you find and it is not as personal as other platforms. That way you can follow celebrities and other public figures who would not normally be "friends" with strangers. Follow me on Twitter @AmandaGMerriman The Canadian Space Agency is one of my favorites. They retweet an reply to public posts often and make you feel like your opinion matters. See more about my interactions with them here.
I also have had a few interactions with Canadian astronauts Chris Hadfiled and Jeremy Hansen that have been awesome. They have pretty busy lives but it makes me feel special to have them take a moment to tweet.
Handyman's dream tool. Quick refresher on PGT (space drill) that crew will use to release & install bolts. pic.twitter.com/d7LcvSabqA
— Jeremy R. Hansen (@Astro_Jeremy) April 23, 2014
Best. Day. Ever. Here is the back story ... Last year I made it
my goal to meet Chris Hadfield and have him come and
talk to my school. I am a self-proclaimed space geek and love all things Hadfield. With his new celebrity and best-seller book he is even
more popular than ever so, even though I did get to briefly meet him, I
have to set the second part of this goal aside. For now.
I have made a new goal. Connect with a current Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Skype, perhaps one day have a school visit, and eventually to be there to interact and support when the day comes for his own time in space. So now I have achieved two of the four so far and am excited to see what the future may bring.
Last November I attended the ATA Science council conference and
was delighted to find out that Canadian astronaut, Jeremy Hansen, would be a keynote speaker. I read all I could and discovered so much about Hansen, Hadfield, and the CSA. Through Twitter I interacted
with Magalie Renaud from the Canadian Space Agency and was able to meet
her and Jeremy face-to-face. It was wonderful to ask him so many
questions and pick Magalie's brain about what was out there for educators in
regards to our Canadian Space Program. She asked me if I had applied to
have an astronaut speak to my class and, of course, I had.
A few months later I received an email from her letting me
know that Jeremy was able to Skype with my class!
This past
week and a half was busy getting the students and their questions ready and
even doing a practice Skype with NASA. We had heard that
there was a possibility that the event would have to be rescheduled
because the astronauts currently aboard the International Space
Station were planning a space walk to repaira computer, and that our own Jeremy
Hansen would be the Ground Intravehicular Officer. It was explained to me that it would be like he is the conductor
to the orchestra that is the symphony of space walking. A pretty big
deal!
Fortunately the
space walk was scheduled for tomorrow so we were able to do our Skype
after all. (Please click HERE to watch the space walk live on April 23rd at 7:20am MST and listen for
Jeremy's voice!). All 80 kids and 5 teachers piled in to my classroom and
the excitement was palpable. What a great moment!
Jeremy talked to us about his journey in becoming an astronaut including Air
Cadets as a youth, being a CF-18 fighter pilot for the Canadian Air Force and
finally being chosen to join the CSA as an astronaut. He explained about
the detailed training including going on caving expeditions, geology and research in the arctic, space walk simulations in space suits under water,
and learning how to use the famous Canadarm. He talked about his job and
all of the experiences he has had so far with such joy and appreciation
that I think it was very inspiring for my students who are starting to find and
follow their own dreams.
Today is also Earth Day and he mentioned how aboard the ISS they have a really
good view of our entire world and that it is important to care for it. Wouldn't it be nice to see the world from way
up there? No borders or boundaries. Just planet Earth.
Jeremy
talked about the future of the space program and how in our lifetime we will
see a boom in scientific studies, commercial space flight, and
new discoveries and technologies that these kids could
very well be a part of. He told them
that no matter what their dreams are they need to find that thing they are
passionate about and go for it with all that they have.
He showed us two amazing videos that were distorted by our slow bandwidth. I thought I'd re-post them for you all to see.
The last
half was spent answering the plethora of questions the kids were itching to
ask. They wanted to know more details
about his training, goals, challenges, and even fears. I asked about his role in the space walk tomorrow,
the role of social media in promoting specifically Canadian astronauts, and any
photography tips he may have picked up.
Space selfie?
I want to say a HUGE thank you to
Jeremy for taking the time during such a busy and important week to talk to our
class. I know I found it very inspiring and
know my students will never forget it. I
also want to thank the CSA and NASA for the continual educational support. It is an exciting time to be a teacher! Merci.
Thank you.
La Nouvelle Beaumont News was there to
cover the story. They interviewed me and
some of the kids for an article in an upcoming addition. Keep an eye out! Here is the picture they took.
What an adventure! I am smiling so much my face hurts.
.jpg)
