Our homeschool group participated this last year and it was great fun.  Check it out.  US groups are also allowed to participate even though this is in Canada.  - Nancy

Fun science project to get involved in...Tomatosphere

Posted in Special Offers
The basics of Tomatosphere is a "blind" test in which you and your
students will not know the treatment of the seeds until completion of
the germination process and submission of results. Students will
learn how to conduct a scientific experiment and compare the
germination rates of the seeds. They may also report on the growth
and development of their plants... and may be inspired to pursue
further education in science and technology.

The partners in Tomatosphere are working to develop new optional
units for teachers and students - new components which are science-
related but also linked to other areas in the curriculum:

Grades 3 - 4 - nutrition focus for astronauts for long trips
Grade 6 - life support for astronauts (other than food)
Grades 7 - 8 - the Mars environment
Grades 9 - 10 - chemistry and biology of food and nutrition
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We are getting ready for the first mailing of 2008. As someone who is
already registered, your seeds will be mailed out in the third week
of February. If you are doing some planning for early March, you
will, in all probability, have your seeds by about the 3rd of March,
if not sooner. IF YOUR SEEDS DO NOT ARRIVE by the 7th of March,
please let us know.

As we move into phase three of Tomatosphere with plans for seeds
being sent to the International Space Station for distribution in
2010, please encourage any of your colleagues who would like to be
involved in the program for 2008 - 2009 - 2010, to register soon.
Although we will have ample seed available for 08 and 09, we are, of
course, limited by the number of seeds that we can actually send up
and retrieve for the 2010 edition. Teachers can register at
www.tomatosphere.org.

Our web site has been undergoing some visual changes. The basic
organization will not change, but the visual impact will improve
greatly. Watch for these changes to be implemented in the next few
weeks. We think you will like the new look to the Tomatosphere web
sit.

I have been cleaning up the data base and would ask that, if you are
NOT interested in continuing with Tomatosphere to let us know by
sending an e-mail to projectmanager@tomatosphere.org.

As always, if you have questions, please feel free to call (905-627-
3685) or send an e-mail to the above address. Except for some times
on vacation (e.g. from January 25 - February 3), responses are
usually within 48 hours.

Best wishes from the Tomatosphere Project Team and sponsors -
Canadian Space Agency, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Stokes
Seeds, H.J. Heinz, Ontario Centres of Excellence, and the University
of Guelph.

Robert Morrow

Project Manager