Tomatosphere offers students an opportunity to run real scientific experiments and help Canadian scientists study long-term space travel.

Through a comprehensive project curriculum for students in grades 3-10, Tomatosphere aims to inspire students by engaging them in real and meaningful science. Students are charged to monitor and record the germination rate for pre-treated tomato seeds in order to give researchers a better understanding of the long-term viability of growing tomatoes in space. The study is set up as a blind study with a control group of untreated seeds and a group that has undergone exposure to space-like conditions, including low temperatures and pressures. Oh, and you are highly encouraged to eat your final product!

The project provides a wealth of teacher and student resources as well as supplemental curriculum to add valuable extensions to student’s learning. Registration and data submission is easy through the Tomatosphere website.