Growroom Lab

The problem I`m commited to solve is lack of envolvement in learning that students face due to lack of a setting that boost curiosity and at the same time fix a steady track for focus and creative activity.

And also a lack of STEM abilities in students.

The solution is the building of SPACE10`s open source Growroom, a wooden dome with 5 or 6 levels (shelves) that grow soil and food. In the making of it, students go through a Lego experience, they see a script for how to fix it, are assited by teachers and taught basic programming skills, if they aren`t skilled yet.

It could set a standard for learning experience, improve teacher and students abilities, arouse STEM interest and identify talents, plus be a nursery from which a community can grow seedlings and gather around.

Latin America, as TPrize challenge has the biggest skills gap in the world. Over four in 10 firms in Latin America say they have difficulty finding workers with the right skills, according to Manpower Group surveys. In some countries about 50% of companies struggle to find workers with the right skills.

Students coming from wealthy families get to high performance but underperform students from the developed world, so money is not the problem, though poorer students are hurt in the process, underperforming their richer national fellows, with 3 to 4 times less money being spent on them.

So the learning environment may benefit with creative dynamics that breaks the walls of this condition.

Members of this initiative initial hackathon have constant exchange with undergraduate students and access to data on learning condition of k-12 students in Brazil.

I sense that there is a recognition that either schools are rebuilding themselves to offer creative learning process, what private schools usually go for, or there`s lack of money, autonomy or empowerment for teachers to set open and autonomous learning environments in public schools.

The solution sets a dynamic learning experience using hands and brains, invite them to grom their own food, presenting it as a hacking experience, tapping into buildings design and soil + plants patterns, and how to design a program with Arduino to manage the system - be it by automating irrigation, lights or whatever else the genius in them find a way.

Tapping into the patterns should help them to develop abstract visualization, provide a knowledge experience that balances motor and brain abilities and give a sense of empowerment of being able to build and make stuff.

A woden box with all the materials + building script inside it, seeds and seedlings, facilitate a learning experience presentially, in which an Arduino course is being delivered.

In some cases the experience may be facilitated remotely, training teachers and shipping the box.

We`re using cutting machines for the dome, a few rubber hammers, a lot of background in what drives curiosity and learning and how the brain works.

We may also make an online platform for sharing learning experiences, in which learners can stay connected and share stories.

And we may prepare teachers to use the Growroom as a permanent Lab for the school, a facility for the school and the community to grow food and seedlings.

The solution harness curiosity and a provides a framework for using brain to tapp into patters, unveling the mistery of how some things work, which is an extraordinary way of learning both a thing and to harness learning ability.

It gives a sense of fullfilment and success, which is crucial for stablishing a mark for learners who are to be very skilled and getting to know autonomy in their learning paths.

Also is innovative by setting a holistic experience and an opportunity to involve a community, eventually harnessing a community of learners around the garden. And does that making hackathons.

Growroom buildings, it as a lab facility in schools and community events in deliver a community of learners and gardeners as an output, plus linking schools that participate in the journey.

Shortcome outcome: collective creative learning by students and interactions between school and a community.

Medium term outcome: development of skills and learning abilities around Growroom usage, and small gardens in houses connected to the experience.

Long term: better relations between students, teachers, school and parents, identification of talents grown by the experience.

1. 0

2. 40

3. 500

Set a building standard for the Growroom, have at least 5 schools using the service and 50+ using in 5 years and make growroom hackathons a desired experince by schools over Latin America, particularly in Brazil.

Initial funding for experimenting with growroom, set a standard for it, design and build a box to ship for remote experiences, build a learning platform and gather a keen and focused group of people.

For experimentation and building of product/service we need initial investment to try, fail and learn.

We are located by a high level university, which should make easy the task of crowdsourcing for the project.

With money to ignite the enterprise the second barrier is not difficult to win.

We have already a previous experience designing this learning experience, but didn`t have resources to invest on, and in the process we harnessed a network of people at Fab and other Learning Labs, that could mentor and connect us with whatever we may need.

We have planned this enterprise in 2019 in a small team at Campinas/Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Brazil. Dissolved the project, met potential advisors during TPrize hackathon and restarted the idea in March 2020.

2 part-time staff by now.

Team is to be gathered.

We combine experience and skills over art and robotics, on one side, and depth of how humans work and learn and how to build startups, in the other.

Gustavo is an artist tech savvy, with a background in mechanic engineer, and Lucas is an all around learner, an economist with ecovillage experience, a researcher of a low carbon economy, how to fund it and build it.

Our initial experience planning for this project in 2019 also is helping us, having double checked the numbers and getting that it is cheap to build, Growroom`s materials costing about BRL 1500 to 2000 or US$ 300 to 400.

We may partner with Plasma, a new makerspace at Campinas State University.

We have hackathoned with them at TPrize initial meeting at Campinas State University.

Our key customers are schools and beneficiaries students and teachers.

In a second move we may attend regular customers, selling Growroom as a home garden.

We provide materials to build a wooden dome garden, an Arduino course

and facilitate a learning experience. We may also train teachers.

We provide the learning experience face to face, with building sessions and coding courses over a period of time, and we also provide remote learning experience, training teachers for the activities and shipping the materials.

We`ll fund our work with money from companies for an impact in harnessing skills in future labor force and identifying talents in schools, this is our first pilar.

We`ll also sell the product to regular customers as a garden, by which we may sustain our money flow.

And apply for several design and STEM grants for initial prototyping and expos to market the learning experience and product.