Where to begin... the teachers?

So, I can write posts about various things if you would like, otherwise I'm just going to write about what is most recent with our system. It is already setup, plants were planted, and the fish were added last Wednesday. We had an issue with some temperature, but the heaters have been added and the fish finally ate and were active on Saturday!

This past week or two the topic came up of "we have this thing, now what?" Well, it was built for teachers to use it. If you build it they will come... right? Only, nobody's coming except to ask what it is and what is happening with it. Why are they not coming? Why are teachers not begging to find ways to use this AMAZING thing as part of their curriculum?

Turns out... they don't know what it is! If they do, they think it is a STEM program thing! Our school is piloting a STEM program alongside our CORE program. Some teachers are not as accepting of this idea, but the community is very accepting. So, they see that I built the system so it MUST be part of our STEM classes. Now, I work on the STEM team, but I teach only the CORE classes and the students working on it were hand selected from all of our team. I picked 20 students both STEM (4) and CORE (16) but it is in no way isolated to the STEM students.

So, where do we start? We have to educate the staff! Friday we are having some staff time where I will get to make a presentation to the entire staff about what the system is, how it works, and why we have it. Perhaps then they will begin thinking about how to incorporate it into classrooms?

Science is a given. There's tons of science that I see in the system but I have some issues with the other subject areas. Perhaps math can talk about the growth of plants? data from water tests? areas/volumes of the tanks/growbeds? Art can use it for drawing, inspiration, etc. But what about other classes? Any suggestions?

How it Works & Setup Information

Here is some basic information that really helped in understanding how a system works and how to put one together.
This book is like a bible to me! Aquaponic Gardening: A Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Vegetables and Fish Together and it has an information website! Aquaponic Gardening

The other place to find good information is The Aquaponic Source

Introduction Post

Hello Everyone!

I am currently an 8th grade science teacher who is passionate about aquaponics. There are many blogs out there that give lots of information about aquaponic systems, but nobody really has lessons and curriculum to go with them. This information is harder to find and you have to dig for it. Ideally this blog will become a place where I will gather those other blog posts and information and make them available.

Why would I do this you might ask...
Well, I had the pleasure of building a system at my school. With the permission to build it came the challenge of making it useful to the school... Not just science classes, not just our STEM program we are trying to get up and running, but EVERY class. How will we use it in every class? You will be a long for the ride if you follow along.

More about me: I went to school at the University of Hawaii-Manoa and was introduced to aquaponics when I was doing my student teaching. My mentor teacher, but more her students, did amazing things with their aquaponics system and school garden. They really emphasize sustainability and eating food that is healthy and safe. Since then, I have always wanted to teach at a school with an aquapoinic system. Last year I was at a small rural school and began designing a small setup with a 75 gal aquarium, but soon ran out of time. This year when given the opportunity I pounced!

Feel free to email me and/or comment to ask questions. Hopefully I can answer your question or direct you to somewhere to find the answer. I'm learning still, but want to compile the information I find to help others along the way.