Project Description:  

Students are working in teams to design and construct a small table- or desk-top aquaponics system for the home, and then market their product.  In other words, we are blending academics and entrepreneurialism and challenging students to make Hawai'i's growth more environmentally sustainable.


They are competing to present the best designs - scientifically, educationally and aesthetically - but also the best PR and marketing strategies.  On Monday, April 22nd, 2013, they will present their designs and pitches to a team of experts - similar to the ABC show Shark Tank.  Event registration for our "Fish Tank" is linked here.


Those selected by the "Fish Tank" panel will begin their own production company, with the help of a local entrepreneurial consultant.  (Kamil sat down with us at the beginning of the year to brainstorm sustainable projects, and came up with the idea of a table-top aquaponics system.  As his website states, he is a "Honolulu based entrepreneur whose goal is to create a competitive startup ecosystem with a focus on sustainability, renewable energy and education."  He has been a guiding influence throughout the process and has been instrumental with the entrepreneurial focus.)

Team websites/social media links:

Team Fenton:
https://www.facebook.com/sonicaquaponics
https://www.instagram.com/sonicaquaponic

Team Kubo:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/MAP-Enterprises/433334823420964
https://www.facebook.com/map.aquaponicsand featured here  

Team Stacey:
instagram:http://instagram.com/aquatopshawaii
facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aquatops-Hawaii/548966575136020
twitter:
https://twitter.com/search?q=aquaponics&src=typd
email contact:  aquatopshawaii@gmail.com

Team Jung:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/MPXaquaponics/370148989741474

Team Millar:
https://www.facebook.com/Alohaponics

Team Miyagawa
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aquapros/554629274558972


Desktop Aquaponics and Kickstarter Campaign Rationale


From a teacher's blog:  Our students are working on a project that we think is the perfect example of authentic learning: to design and create a small, table-top aqua-ponics kit for the home and then create a marketing pitch to sell it publicly.  The rationale for a small table-top size kit is for parents and children to use it for home education about sustainability - but also, to create something with aesthetic beauty - and maybe grow some herbs for the kitchen, to boot.  


When we developed the idea, we were looking for the kind of project that has all the hallmarks of true project-based learning:  
  • the students identified an authentic need (in this case, water conservation and food cultivation;) 
  • they had to communicate with local experts to learn about aqua-ponics; 
  • they used the engineering design process to build backwards and practice the art of critique and refining;
  • and they will have to present their learning to the community (with the prospect of the legacy in the form of an actual “living” aqua-ponics kit.)  If the students are successful at marketing their kits, they may even be able to launch a small scale business and producing kits to meet consumer demand.


While the engineering class will handle the math and science components, the humanities class will work on an answer to the essential questions - ”Why is aqua-ponics necessary, and how do I convince other people to change their current practices?” to study rhetoric, myth, literature and history. 


Secondarily, we’re also trying to model how projects get developed in the real world - that is, how and why project deliverables are developed and what sorts of elements or components are included in various stages of design.  To that end, we have been using the engineering design process used by NASA engineers to stress the importance of factoring in criteria and constraints prior to design, brainstorming solutions around a concrete problem, and using peer- and self-critique effectively to refine the various stages of the product.


Finally, the reward for their efforts will not be an "A" - it will be a chance to develop a real business.  The students are learning how to be entrepreneurs - to address consumers' needs, and to promote their vision and efforts to a public audience.  We couldn't think of a stronger self-motivator than that.


One of our prospective "sharks" gave a pep talk to our students that I think neatly expresses the aspirations and value of this experience."

Team Roles and Responsibilities: 

We wanted the students to take on specific roles within their work teams so that each individual could be accountable for their efforts, but also so that each student could contribute their strength to the group's efforts.  They decided the five key roles would be:  
  • architect
  • builder
  • salesperson
  • contractor
  • and documentarian (necessary for web presence)


They also decided what the responsibilities should be for each role, and their rubric is attached below:

For examples of student work:





Finally, what will the students learn w/r/t to academic content?  We believe it is important to stress that this is an interdisciplinary project, and that the integration of all subjects strengthens each individual discipline.  Nothing is learned in a silo - no subject is purely one discipline or another.  And by grounding subject knowledge in a real-world context, we hope the students will learn without realizing they are doing so.
  • Students will learn the fundamentals of biology and ecology to understand the science of aquaponics
  • Students will learn basics of human geography to understand the need for water conservation and more sustainable agriculture
  • Students will examine the effects of resource scarcity and the struggle for resources by examining 20th century world history and through modern fiction
  • Students will learn elementary engineering by designing and creating constructions
  • Students will learn core concepts of geometry in calculating area and volume of constructions
  • Students will learn basic elements of storytelling, rhetoric, and other forms of persuasive speech to sell their product and gain community support for product.  They will read: 
    • Hawaiian legends and contextualize those legends in culture; 
    • Foundational literature such as the Iliad and the Bible for comparisons; 
    • Modern political speech and rhetoric
    • Modern advertising (Apple Brand case study)
  • Students will use communication and presentation technologies to create a pitch for their products
  • Students will learn the principles of two and three-dimensional solids, scale drawings, application of angle measures, in general concepts and symmetry and design.  
  • Students will acquire an understanding of systems thinking including interdependence and feedback loops