The Shiplake Science Department have spent the previous few months engaged in an experiment with a reach that goes beyond just the international – it’s galactic, even. Working alongside the Royal Horticultural Society and the UK Space Agency, the experiment involved planting seeds that had been into space, and seeds that hadn’t, and measuring their growth, trying to determine which seeds had been to the International Space Station.
Shiplake was one of 10,000 schools to receive two packet of seeds at the end of April. One packet was blue, and the other was red – the key was to grow them in the same conditions, and try to establish which packet had been into space. The nationwide experiment has now come to an end, and the hotly awaited answer was revealed by none other than British astronaut Tim Peake…
Year 12 scholar (and future Head of College for the coming academic year) Emily Wilkinson worked with a group of pupils in Year 9 to grow the seeds and keep track of their progress. The team measured and recorded key data. The experiment, which lasted several weeks, was conducted under the watchful eye of Mr Grant Lawson. Their results will be uploaded onto a national database, which contributes to a global scientific understanding of the practicalities of growing plants in space. The experiment was created to encourage children and young adults to consider space biology, and inspire them to look into careers in science, technology, engineering and maths. The innovative scheme offered an avenue into an inspiring, evolving branch of science.
Having worked for weeks on growing the seeds, the Shiplake science group were eager to see the specially created video from Tim Peake, revealing the seeds that had been into space. The pupils had hedged their bets that it was the blue seeds which had made the space mission. See the big reveal here…