ISF STEM Project


Food security is an issue that many people around the world face. There are many complex reasons for food insecurity which students may not fully grasp, but this series of STEM projects for students, that can be completed almost anywhere, are designed to get them thinking of possible solutions.

What is food security?
For a person to be considered food secure, there must be food available to them, it must be affordable and the food must be good enough to provide them the nutrition needed to be healthy.
Whilst most Australian’s are fortunate in being able to obtain the food they need, for other people around the world, this can be an ongoing daily struggle.
Reasons for food insecurity may include poverty, trade, environmental issues (water, loss of biodiversity) and urbanisation of productive land.
Natural disasters may also lead to food insecurity, either in the short or long term.
(https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fail:Africa_Food_Security_16_(10665114074).jpg, Wikipedia Commons)
One possible (crazy?) solution
Growing crops for food on planet Earth is becoming increasingly difficult due to issues such as:
  • an increasing population,
  • natural disasters destroying food crops and land areas used for farming,
  • climate change,
  • pests and diseases affecting crops and livestock, and
  • the lack of available land suitable for farming.

Whilst it may seem a little far-fetched, one possible solution could be to grow food crops outside of planet Earth, on an International Space Farm (ISF)!
This solution came to us whilst talking with a teacher working in Broome. The town became completely cut off due to flooding from a series of cyclones that season and food stocks in town were getting low.
International Space Station  images-assets.nasa.gov/image/s132e013215/s132e013215~orig.jpg (NASA)
International Space Farm
The idea of an International Space Farm (ISF) lends itself to a STEM project which can also bring in elements of Humanities and Social Science due to the potential global politics involved.
Originally designed as a group project to be completed at school (found here), the ISF STEM project has been reorganised to make a series of smaller projects suitable for learning almost anywhere.
This series of smaller projects will hone students STEM skills asking them first to consider what STEM skills are and what they look like. A PowerPoint presentation has been prepared to help them with this and it can be found on the PALMS website.
Students will also learn more about the issue of food security, how it affects Australia and what current research is being done on growing food in space, through background research with guided questions.
NASA Astronaut watering plants on International Space Station images-assets.nasa.gov/image/iss061e014149/iss061e014149~orig.jpg
Astronaut harvesting lettuce on International Space Station images-assets.nasa.gov/image/iss040e009124/iss040e009124~orig.jpg (NASA)
The Projects
Each of the projects are presented as interactive PDF booklets for students to download and complete on their own devices.
Some projects ask the students to build models or test materials they may find around home whilst other involve growing plants under various conditions.
The hands-on elements of the projects are supported by a guide with instructions on how to approach the projects and additional interactive PDF booklets to record online research the students conduct.
View and then download the projects by clicking on the links below:

Space Farm https://flickr.com/photos/x-ray_delta_one/4197841092 Picture by Syd Mead (Creative Commons)

Location: Australia