A National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded collaboration between MMSA and Boston College’s Lynch School of Education and Human Development will bring the college’s Smart Greenhouse curriculum to Maine schools.
Entitled “Building Teacher Capacity for Designing Transdisciplinary Learning Experiences,” the project combines tabletop greenhouses with sensors and controllers that students can program using small computers called micro:bits.
Micro:bits can collect data and control the greenhouse environment with accessories including a heater, humidifier, LED, and fan. Not only can students learn to code by programming the micro:bits, but they can also conduct investigations within the greenhouse environment using computer science.
MMSA will officially kick off this project with a four-day Smart Greenhouse Institute at the 2025 CS Summer of Fun in July. At the Institute, 10 middle and high school teachers from multiple disciplines—including traditional science and computer science—will experience the very lessons they will do with their students. They will then return to their classrooms with all of the materials they need to set up their Smart Greenhouses. Throughout the school year, MMSA will provide additional professional development and individual support for the educators as their students work with the Smart Greenhouses.
The three-year NSF grant will fund material costs, summer Institute expenses, and staff time to implement the project and support educators. In addition, educators will receive stipends for taking part in professional development and carrying out the Smart Greenhouse project in their classrooms. View the press release by the Lynch School for more information about this partnership.
Teachers interested in joining the Smart Greenhouse project can contact Stefany Burrell, sburrell@mmsa.org, for more information or visit our Smart Greenhouse page to apply for the cohort.
