Growing plants with hydroponics requires less water than growing plants in soil. This is because the water is contrained around the roots and there is less evaporation from the surrounding area.

For this unit we use the software program Garden Insight.

The program Garden Insight is on the Urban Agriculture CD ROM that comes with the Classroom Kit.

The program can also be obtained through download at Garden Insight home page.

Once the program is installed on a computer it can be used to grow crops and estimate water use.

Activity: Design a hydroponic survival garden and then test it in the Garden Insight software for several days to discover how much food is available every day and then how much water is required.

Notes to the teacher: This activity meets the science standards of

Represent and describe relationships between two quantities using words, symbols, pictures, and/or manipulatives

Recognize, create, describe, and extend numeric and geometric patterns.

Students will be asked to work with problems that demonstrate a relationship between two quantities such as: number of people who can be seated at a table and the number of tables needed.

1.Social Science Objective: Identify ways that people can participate in their communities and the rights and responsibilities of membership.

2. Science objective -Collect, organize, display, and describe simple data using charts, tables, number lines, bar graphs, and line graphs.

3.Identify an issue or problem that can be studied.

Nasa Hydroponics Activities