Meet The Class Horticulture and the
Science
of Plants |
| In the morning, the class
toured the molecular biology labs of the the Norman Borlaug Crop
Biotechnology Center. Dr. Patricia cline brought the class to
several labs where they observed genetically transformed cotton plant
that contained an anti-fungal gene from tobacco (called a genetically
modified organism or GMO), how genes are inserted in plants with a
"gene gun" or a bacteria, and how genetic finger prints are made from
gels. I forgot to bring my camera, so we do that have any
pictures. In the afternoon, the students learned about careers in horticulture, collected the final data on their Aquaculture Ecosystem experiment. For the last exercise of the class, the students got in touch with their artistic side. Dr. Zajicek enlightened the students about the history of floral design and the origin of certain of our modern day practices using flowers. In class they made a nosegay or tuzzy-muzzy, which is a hand held floral bouquet that originated during this middle ages. The nosegay was carried around to cover up body odor!; mostly by men! Even today it is traditional for brides to carry a hand-held bouquet, which has its roots in the nosegay. |
| Class Learns About Careers in Horticulture | |
 Sharon Duray, Senior Academic Advisor, tell the class about the many careers one can pursue with a degree in horticulture. |
|
| Students Collect Final Data on Aquaponic Ecosystem Experiment | |
 The class takes the final data measurements on the Aquaponic Ecosystem experiment.   The plants grown with the recycled fish tank water is in the trough on the left, and the plants grown in the hydroponic fertilizer solution is in the trough on the right. You can see that the bean and squash plants grew best in the hydroponic fertilizer solution compared to the aquaponic recycled fish water. The height and leaf number data collected verified this observation. Why? When the students measure the nitrate level in the water, the aquaponic fish water had only 16 ppm nitrate nitrogen and the hydroponic fertilizer solution contained 140 ppm nitrate nitrogen. The students also found that ammonium nitrogen was never a problem with either system. |
|
| The Students Express
Their Artistic Side By Learning the Principle of Floral Design |
|
 Julie, Geralyn and Shari (floral design TAs) show Carlyn how to arrange and bind the flowers. |
 Dr. Jayne Zajicek help Jo Jo, Emily and Bobbie prepare the flower for making the floral design. |
 Carlyn and Cathryn organize their flowers. |
 Andy is amazed at his simple design, and LeeAnn is ready for the next step to be explained. |
| Each
Student's Nosegay or Tuzzy-Muzzy - Super Job! |
|
 Andy |
 Bobbie |
 Carlyn |
 Emily |
 Jo Jo |
 LeeAnn |
 Cathryn |
 Councilors - Melissa, Wendy and Tim. Tim needs a bit more instruction! |
| Final
Farewell |
|
 At the end of the last day, the class said a final farewell. Gosh, this was a super group of kids and a heck of a lot of fun to teach. |
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