58 / SEEDWORLD.COM SEPTEMBER 2018 WHAT’S BETTER THAN growing plants on Earth? Here’s a hint: growing crops in space. But there’s always a catch: researchers still aren’t certain what affects crops in space. There is significant evidence, however, that microgravity affects virtually every aspect of plant growth. The only way to determine what specifically can affect growth and yield is to experiment. This past spring, the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory sponsored new experiments, which will be managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), to test some of these effects; primarily, the effect microgravity might have on certain crops. Magnitude.io (Magnitude) believes research like this is not only for adults to learn about crop growth — students are lead through investigations on the effects of microgravity on plants, as well. “We really looked at the role of America in the world today,” says Ted Tagami, CEO and founder of Magnitude. “We’ve lost our leadership in STEM, and our current educational system is currently going through transformative change. We want to show students how applicable sciences can be, especially at the intersection of science and engineering.” Once Tagami and his team learned about CASIS’s call for experiments for the ISS, he knew it was an opportunity Magnitude couldn’t miss. Magnitude developed a project that could not only be sent into space but could be observed in many different classrooms in the U.S. concurrently. Using ExoLab and a package of seeds, students can grow their own experiment in a specialized growth chamber in their classrooms on Earth while a clone plant is growing on the ISS. When there’s a resupply mission, Magnitude is able to send more experiments for students to work with, which allows classrooms to look at the relationships between environmental conditions, specifically the effect microgravity has on plant growth. “It was tough to get access to the ISS,” says Tagami. “But, we wanted to bring something extraordinary and take it to classrooms.” What plant would be best suited for not only multiple experi- ments, but also could hold the attention of middle school stu- dents in fast-paced America? RESEARCHING TO INFINITY AND BEYOND With endless knowledge just a click away, how can we engage students to get excited about making their own discoveries? Alex Martin amartin@issuesink.com