Open access: browse this world, read tasks, and explore builds without signing in. You only need an account when you start an investigation.
Cells, Plants, and Food Systems
Hydroponics and agritech · grow systems with honest efficiency claims
Microscopes · hydroponics · grow towers and agritech
How do living things grow — and how do we feed more people on less land?
Living World · Life processes
Under the microscope, plant and animal cells look nothing like the textbook cartoon. What can you actually see — and what would stop working if one organelle disappeared?
A kauri, a kererū, and you run the same processes inside cells — but how differs. Look at real plant and animal cells, prove photosynthesis needs light, trace gas exchange and digestion, then connect cell biology evidence to fair grow comparisons and food-system design.
First step
Run a fair grow comparison; log light, nutrients, and growth at fixed intervals.
Expected outcome
Living-systems claim with grow tower or controller build and data.
Local place context
What living sample or model organism connects to your local whenua or lab protocol?
What to do, in order
Your steps for this unit
Work through one step at a time. Your teacher releases the next step when the class is ready — the overview above is always available so you know where the unit is heading.
Step 1 of 7 available now
Warm-up quiz· Lesson 1
VentureYour stepLearn living systems· Lessons 1–2
VentureLog grow data· Lessons 3–5
ObserveLockedYour teacher will unlock this when the class finishes step 1.
Nutrients and transport· Lessons 5–6
ObserveLockedYour teacher will unlock this when the class finishes step 1.
Efficiency claims· Lessons 6–7
InferLockedYour teacher will unlock this when the class finishes step 1.
Tower and FORGE builds· Lessons 7–8
CreateLockedYour teacher will unlock this when the class finishes step 1.
Look back and reflect· Lessons 9–10
EvaluateLockedYour teacher will unlock this when the class finishes step 1.
How you think
VOICE across 8–10 lessons across one term (Year B)
VOICE = thinking phases · Sequence above = what to do · Tabs = where materials live
Warm-up on life processes; look-back pairs Q1–8; grow data in Q9.
- Venture
Lessons 1–2
Metrics, protocols, system setup
Materials: Learn
- Observe
Lessons 3–5
Growth logging, nutrients, light
Materials: Investigate
- Infer
Lessons 6–7
Transport models, efficiency claims
Materials: Investigate · Portfolio
- Create
Lessons 7–8
Tower/controller FORGE builds
Materials: Make
- Evaluate
Lessons 9–10
Revision, consequence, portfolio
Materials: Portfolio · Check understanding
- Year
- Year 7–8 combined
- Audience
- School garden group · Food technology class · Whānau open evening · Science fair
- Equipment
- Hydroponic or soil grow rigs, Light meter or ranked light zones, Nutrient solutions, Scales and rulers
Unit pages
Pick your next page
One page at a time — warm-up, reading, tasks, builds, and portfolio. Locked cards unlock when your teacher releases the next class step.
- 1Type & save
Warm-up quiz
Lesson 1, before we start. No marks — just your first thoughts.
Open page → - Locked
Background reading
Step 2 — follow your class sequence.
- Locked
Investigation tasks
Step 3 — follow your class sequence.
- Locked
Build something
Step 4 — follow your class sequence.
- Locked
Discussion questions
Step 5 — follow your class sequence.
- Locked
Your portfolio
Step 6 — follow your class sequence.
- Locked
Look-back quiz
Step 7 — follow your class sequence.
Unit materials
Open a tab when your teacher or the sequence above points you there — locked tabs unlock with each new step.
Formative only — no grades. Several post-check questions repeat the warm-up on purpose so you can show how your thinking grew. Your teacher uses the rubric for professional judgement, not a score.
Pre-check · Lesson 1 (before teaching)
Warm-up quiz — 15–20 minutes. No right or wrong answers.
Q1 ·
What do plants need to grow? List more than water.
Q2 ·
What does light do for a green plant?
Q3 ·
How is hydroponics different from growing in soil?
Q4 ·
Two plants in different light — can you compare growth fairly? Why?
Q5 ·
How do you think water gets from roots to leaves?
Q6 ·
Why might cities grow food indoors or vertically?
Q7 ·
What might happen if a plant gets too much fertiliser?
Q8 ·
What could “efficient” mean when comparing two grow systems?
Q9 ·
What do you want to find out about how plants grow?
Q10 ·
How confident are you about plant systems? One know; one unsure.
AI mentor (inside your investigation)
Support appears in your investigation workspace — gentle prompts about your context, data, and analysis. Your teacher can turn assistance off for unassisted checkpoints.
Three ways to engage with this topic
They share a theme but serve different purposes — your class unit is structured and teacher-guided; community platforms are open; class insights are patterns from other school groups.
Your class inquiry world
Teacher-guided VOICE sequence, portfolio artefacts, datasets, and step-by-step release — consent-gated for your cohort.
Open school unit →Class insights from other groups
Anonymised patterns from school investigations on this topic — ideas to test in your dataset, not answers to copy.
Browse insights hub →Try at home · NuiBot
Share a recipe for what your robot does — overnight readings, repeatable arm placement, or line-follow sampling.
- Open platform:
- Robot protocols and calibration notes from home or club setups
- School unit:
- Aquaponics and grow-system investigations with teacher consent
Ten STEM inquiry worlds with dual angles: scientific investigation and makerspace builds on the same curriculum context.