Brandeston pupils in Year 6 have joined in with the RHS Campaign for School Gardening which has partnered with the UK Space Agency to embark on an ‘out of this world’ educational project.
The aim of this project is to find out whether we can sustain human life in space through the production of our own food. It will also hopefully inspire pupils to think scientifically and helping them to see the potential of future careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) and Horticulture.
Two kilograms of rocket seeds took off from Florida bound for the International Space Station as part of British ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s six-month Principia mission.
The seeds spent several months on board before being sent back. They landed in the Pacific Ocean in the spring of 2016 and were then returned to the UK where they were packaged up with identical seeds that have stayed on Earth. Brandeston Hall received two packets of seeds each containing 100 of these seeds to grow and compare.
Pupils in 6B have sown the Rocket seeds and are now monitoring their germination and growth rate. At the end of the experiment we will input the results into a national online database so that results can be compared across all schools in the UK.
