STEM Education in Container Farms
Many schools, from K–12 to college, use Freight Farms to enhance students’ education. A versatile tool, the modular farms provide an opportunity for hands-on activities and nontraditional learning. But while nontraditional, a Freight Farm-based curriculum has the potential to teach and clarify abstract concepts in several STEM subjects. To name a few:
Botany
Physics
Biology
Chemistry
Computer Science
Technology
Electronics
Engineering
Research
Agriculture
Horticulture
Environmental Science
Let’s dig in.
Botany
First, perhaps the most obvious. Growing plants gives students kinesthetic learning experiences with — you guessed it — plant science. Freight Farms present the potential to learn about plant genetics and cloning; the similarities between genetically related but seemingly dissimilar plants (such as kale and bok choy); and, for less experienced plant science learners, the parts of plants and the functions they serve.
Physics
Understanding the science of light in the farm is physics at its finest. Students can learn about wavelength, frequency, and color, and can study why the red and blue lights of the farm are those best absorbed by plants.
“We ended up buying a high school grade spectrophotometer, and we took it into the Freight Farm and analyzed the different wavelengths of light — the blue light, the red light — just to see what those ranges were. Then, in our AP biology course, we harvested some of the different lettuce and crunched it up and put that into our spectrophotometer to see what wavelengths of light those different plants are absorbing, and then compared the two to see how effective those different wavelengths of light were.”
Biology
Aside from the obvious plant science aspects of biology, STEM students can study the Freight Farm’s thriving ecological community for a closer look at biology. Many farm operators utilize beneficial bacteria and fungi to keep pathogens in the farm’s water tanks in balance. Studying this microscopic life is always a great learning opportunity!
The fact that the farm is soilless also presents a learning opportunity. Students can study the composition of soil and explore how nutrient-fortified water compares to soil when nourishing plants.
“I’m interested in having my classes do some microbial studies with this, whether it be microbes in terms of bacteria or fungus, but just to look at some diversity examples and understand whether there is a difference between Freight Farmed lettuce versus lettuce that is just grown at a standard farm, grown out of the ground.”
Chemistry
Water in the farm is at the heart of several potential chemistry-related projects. Maintaining water chemistry is key to managing a healthy farm; students can more tangibly grasp abstract concepts like pH and the factors that impact the acidity and alkalinity of a farm by monitoring its pH sensors and adjusting solutions.
“I went into biology this year and had no clue what [the teacher] was saying when he was like, ‘pH,’ and [the farm] helps me get a better understanding of how it affects things … this helped me get a much more firm grasp on what exactly it does to plants — it’s quite helpful.”
Chemistry also relates to the farm’s water in the nutrient blends that are dissolved into the container farm’s irrigation systems. Macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, as well as micronutrients like calcium, magnesium, and sulfur, are integrated into the water in varying concentrations depending on crop type and life stage. Students can measure these concentrations using electroconductivity, learn about using chelates to improve solubility, and learn why nutrients are split into two solutions to prevent precipitation of nutrient salts.
Computer Science, Technology & Electronics
An automated farm means ample learning opportunities for technology, computer science, and programming. Students can gain direct insights into how electrical boxes and circuits function, see how software interfaces with real-world sensors and inputs, analyze farm data, and learn important programming concepts like logic gates.
“You can teach a whole class on electronics, for instance, in here. I am having the automation curriculum for my Engineering II class [in the farm]. They installed some sensors and did calibration, which is a really important aspect of automation — that accuracy of your programming.”
Engineering
A Freight Farm is a feat of engineering — 320 sq. ft of carefully designed space that maximizes growing power and efficiency. Students can study the systems and design of the farm to learn engineering principles and creative design. Key systems in the farm such as plumbing, electrical, and HVAC are easily accessible for teaching through an inquiry-based approach.
“It taught me a lot about how to grow, especially with hydroponics and the engineering behind that.”
Research
A shipping container brimming with science, a Freight Farm is a platform rife with research opportunities. Researching how varying environmental factors impact plants’ health and growth; researching the yield potential of different crop varieties; researching the lasting power of hydroponic lettuce vs. traditionally farmed — the opportunities are endless.
For example, Salem (MA) High School ran a senior research internship program based in the Freight Farm, wherein students learned how to record data and maintain the farm during their first semester, and then spent their second semester designing and conducting their own research projects to finish out their high school careers.
Agriculture & Horticulture
A Freight Farm provides a unique take on agriculture and horticulture — but still offers students the chance to learn about cultivating crops and managing a growing space. There’s also opportunity to explore how the Freight Farm as a platform differs from traditional agriculture.
Environmental Science
Freight Farms are life-supporting ecosystems with inputs and outputs like any functioning biome. Learning how to balance resources and what happens when processes are disrupted provides clear lessons for students that are more meaningful when experienced firsthand.
Freight Farms prioritize sustainability and reduce usage of resources like water and soil when compared to traditional farming. Such practices offer interesting lessons for environmental science students. Additional lessons could stem from soil science: Considering soil management and discussing if growing plants hydroponically is a potential solution to the depletion of soil, as well as studying how plants in a hydroponic farm grow without the nutritional support of soil, are both potential topics.
As you can see, farm STEM learning opportunities are practically endless.
A Freight Farm is only 320 square feet, but it holds so much potential! Said one educator about his high school agriculture class in the Freight Farm, “This class is very hands-on. Philosophically, I am very much passionate about hands-on, practical learning that can really be applied to life and that you do something with what you are learning.”
Teachers love the creative STEM learning opportunities, and students love that lessons in the Freight Farm put abstract theories learned in science classes into practice. Take it from this student:
“It’s not another class where it’s all knowledge and you don’t have anything physical to represent what you’ve done. Here, you can say, ‘I grew this piece of lettuce,’ and that’s a really, really rewarding feeling.”
Hear from students and teachers in this video!
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