Growing Beyond Earth® for Australian Schools
Growing Beyond Earth® for Australian Schools immerses students in the intersection of plant and space science!
This unique learning program activates students’ skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) as they embark on an out-of-this-world citizen science project, gathering data that informs research on growing plants in space. Students conduct classroom-based plant experiments within a specially designed growth chamber which emulates the conditions in the ‘Vegetable Production System’ (Veggie), a system used to grow food on the International Space Station. Experiment data is then shared with plant scientists at NASA to help inform which species may be suitable for growing food in space. Students connect with industry professionals, gaining insider perspectives on the cutting-edged Science being used to grow plants in and for space.
The Growing Beyond Earth® Story
Since 2023, AIɫɫ (RBGV) has supported the Australian branch of this remarkable program initiated in 2015 by extraordinary minds at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (Miami, U.S.), in partnership with NASA. 36 schools have participated in the Growing Beyond Earth® for Australian Schools program so far, with the help of our Australian partners, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plants for Space and La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF). Our Australian schools are now part of a global community of over 500 schools from 48 U.S. states and 10 countries.
As part of the Growing Beyond Earth® for Australian Schools program, schools will:
- Receive specialised online training from Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens to learn experiment procedures and protocol.
- Be provided with a plant growth chamber and discover how to set up and conduct the research experiments at school.
- Hear from RBGV and LISAF plants scientists and be part of engagement opportunities, such as an excursion at La Trobe University’s AgriBio laboratories, to learn about the Plants for Space program in Australia.
- Receive ongoing support throughout the program from RBGV, Fairchild and LISAF.
- Be part of the Growing Beyond Earth® for Australian Schools community, with the option of joining Fairchild's Global Student GBE Online Symposium.
- Be invited to share and celebrate their experience at the Growing Beyond Earth® for Australian Schools Online Symposium in Term 4.
In 2025 the program was financially supported by the Toyota Community Trust and Melbourne Airport. In exciting news, the Victorian Government Department of Education under the Strategic Partnerships Program (SPP) has committed to funding this innovative program for the next two years, equipping RBGV to support more Victorian schools as they embark on their Growing Beyond Earth® mission! To submit an Expression of Interest to join Growing Beyond Earth® for Australian Schools in 2026, .
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