LCIS STEM Students Explore Greenhouse Design with C4’s Education Team
For six weeks this winter, C4’s education team, led by Ash Warner and Jo Graham, partnered with Doug Smith, LCIS’ STEM teacher, to lead 6th graders in a greenhouse design project. The project presented students with a real-world design challenge: help Cloud City farm design a new educational greenhouse with both growing space and room for 25 students to learn.
“Collaborating with C4 allows STEM students to use science & engineering to solve real-world problems. Students get to learn from experts & see first- hand evidence of how the engineering design steps are applied in their own community.”
-Doug Smith, LCIS STEM Teacher
The unit gave students a hands-on understanding of how light energy transfers to heat energy and, in turn, how that heats a greenhouse. Students also explored how temperature can be regulated with design elements like vents, fans, and water.
Each 6th grade class spent two weeks visiting the farm, learning about thermal features, and building greenhouse models. During the first week, students visited the farm and observed the greenhouses. They took notes on what materials were used, different features they observed, and what questions they had about how the dome and high tunnel regulated thermal energy.
During the next week’s farm visit, students measured the dimensions of the greenhouses and garden beds, which we used later in our exploration of the concept and importance of scale. When sketching and building their models, students used scale to represent larger objects without needing a piece of paper that is the actual length of the greenhouse. This allowed them to apply math in a real-world project, merging engineering, science, and math skills within a single project.
At the end of the two weeks, student groups presented their models, describing the educational and greenhouse features they included. Students leaned into their creativity, presenting a wide range of ideas of greenhouse additions including a library, plant buffet, and rainwater catcher.
A student survey showed how visiting the farm and having a real-world problem to solve improved students’ ability to visualize and understand scientific concepts.
But this project wasn’t just helpful for the 6th graders- it also gave C4 new ideas about what to include in our new greenhouse and what students want to see. We’re excited to run this unit in years to come and we look forward to more collaboration with other LCSD classes!
Interested in collaborating? Our team would love to partner with and support local educators, whether it's for a farm tour, field lesson, or an extended project. Email ash@c4leadville.org if you'd like to learn more!