Samantha Lilly

Cheryl Curtis
LLT 530 Makerspace

Makerspace: Growing Wall

Description:

In the makerspace, there is a wall of windows that extend

four feet from the floor to the ceiling creating fifteen feet of
optimal sunlight. The room faces south west which is a great
direction for growing. The students will make a hydroponic
garden that will produce a variety of food for donation to the
local food bank. Students involved will receive help from
volunteers to assist them with the cutting, gluing and overall
construction of the wall.

Justification:

Every year, more and more trash is filling up the landfills. For this activity, we will be making use
of some of this “trash”. Creating a hydroponic garden will allow students to use recycled items to grow
fresh ingredients. A hydroponic garden is when plants do not grow in soil. They actually grow in mineral
nutrient solutions such as vermiculite in a water solvent.

The items that one can grow in a hydroponic garden are endless. It can be fruit, vegetables or
even herbs. However, one has to be careful of the type of root system the vegetation plant uses. Since
our garden can not support root plants, students will learn the differences between root and flowering
plants. Besides knowing the difference in how plants grow, they will learn to care and tend to the
garden. Students will be responsible for watering or giving nutrients to the plants to ensure optimal
growth. They will also watch and learn about the different stages of plant life as each plant begins to
sprout. Once the plants have sprouted and grown to their full height, we will cultivate the product or
food. The food or product collect will then be donated to the local food bank or even to struggling
community families.

The garden wall can incorporate multiple subject areas as well. The main subject or focus area is
Science, with the evolution of plants. One can also add how to configure the ph levels and what they can
do to adjust them. Additionally, one can also incorporate math, social studies/history, writing and even
reading lessons into the use of Hydroponic gardens. For math, students can make measurements of
growth. This can be recorded daily or weekly based on staff preferences. They can then compare which
plants are growing faster or slower, which one has more mass/weight and calculate the amount of
growth from beginning to end that had occurred. They can also keep a tally of how much food has been
donated throughout the year. As for writing, student can write a paragraph or more on the process,
predictions and even their own experience with hydroponics or gardening. They could even write a
letter to the local hydroponics plant about their facility, a request for them to tour our system or even a
field trip to the plant. There are other interactive ideas that they can incorporate, such as a journal or
brochure, even a daily blog on the findings and outcomes from the garde. Finally there is reading, here
one can incorporate web scavenger hunts or research projects.

Background Information:

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants in water without soil. The water must be rich in
nutrients for the plants to grow and the root system needs some type of medium to grow in. In this case,
it will be vermiculite. This system of growing dates to the Egyptian times.

For vegetables to grow they need a particular pH level to thrive. To adjust this pH level, a liquid
fertilizer is added to the water before it is poured into the hydroponic system. It is possible to check the
pH in the water using paper test strips, liquid pH test kits or a digital meter. For our garden, we will be
using paper test strips.

Standards:

Full Listing of ​Standards

3.1.A Organisms and Cells

● 3.1.3.A5. Identify the structures in plants that are responsible for food production, support,
water transportation, reproduction, growth, and protection.

3.4.B Technology and Society

● 3.4.3.B2. Explain how materials are re-used or recycled.

● 4.5.B2. Describe how waste may be appropriately recycled or disposed of to prevent
unnecessary harm to the environment.
3.4.D Abilities for a Technological World

● 3.4.3.D2. Observe, analyze and document how simple systems work.

Projected Budget:

* Prices are taken from Homedepot.com

Equipment: Cost per item Total Cost

GE Silicon $5.31 $5.31

Ocelo sponge (4 pack) $3.00 $3.00

Vermiculite 8 Qt. $4.49 x 2 $8.98

2-inch metal ring (2-pack) $1.92 x 4 $7.68

 Everbilt 3/16 in. x 50 ft nylon rope $8.21 $8.21

Black spray paint Rust-Oleum $3.98 x 2 $7.96

Masking tape hyStick 1 in. x 60 yards 1.62 x 3 $4.86

1.25x22mm zinc-plated nut and bolt (2 per bag) $1.28 x 4 $5.12

ph test strips $7.47 $7.47

Total Cost $58.98

Essential Personnel:

When this garden is initially created, there will be a group of adult volunteers that will come and assist in
cutting the plastic bottles. These volunteers will supply the following tools: utility knives, caulk guns, drill
and drill bits, lighter/matches, pliers, and screwdrivers.

The Innovation Lab is currently used as an encore class, therefore, no additional staff would be
necessary.

If an afterschool club were established, a staff member would have to oversee the program. The current
cost rate is 30.00 per hour. Full directions for this project can be found through ​The Growing Wall
Directions Doc​.

Bibliography:

"Hydorponic Bottle Garden." 6 July 2010. ​Urban Green Survival.

<http://urbangreensurvival.blogspot.com/2010/07/hydroponic-bottle-garden.html?m=1>.
HEIKENFELD, RITA. “Explore Four Hydroponic Grow Systems for Beginners.” ​Countryside & Small 
Stock Journal,​ vol. 101, no. 4, July 2017, p. 26. ​EBSCOhost,​  
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=ulh&AN=124434214&site=eds-live&s
cope=site&custid=s3915793.

Ruiz-Carpio, Miguel Rafael, et al. “Teaching Engineering, Teamwork & Tolerance by Bringing 
Multi-Discipline, Multicultural Students Together via a Project of Common Interest; Vertical, Hydroponic, 
Smart Garden With Global and Universal (Space) Applications (Student Poster-Paper).” ​Proceedings of 
the ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition​, Jan. 2018, pp. 1–15. ​EBSCOhost,​  
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=asn&AN=131758115&site=eds-live&s
cope=site&custid=s3915793.