Climate change is a major concern for this generation. Food production has a major impact on the environment and climate change since most methods of food production require acres of land, chemical pesticides, and large amounts of water. The Earth’s oceans and seas are suffering from overfishing and some estimates claim that current fishing techniques can not be maintained. With populations growing and overfishing practices still in use, there needs to be a sustainable alternative for producing food. Aquaponics is that alternative. It is our hope to educate the public on what Aquaponics is and how anyone can implement these systems.
Our partnering organization, The Tech Museum of Innovation, is a family-friendly interactive science and technology center that serves as an educational resource for children and any interested adults. The Tech Museum of Innovation offers educational programs and onsite exhibits to expose children to technology and nurture their curiosity for STEM research. Some of these programs include The Tech Challenge and the Annual Team Design Competition, which have been globally recognized as community-centered activities for learning. Since climate change and chemical-free food production has been a major discussion in multiple science journals, The Tech Museum needs the Aquaponics project as an additional onsite exhibit to help educate the community on possible solutions to these global issues.
Aquaponics has many benefits for the environment and the community. First, aquaponics efficiently uses resources: no water is thrown away and fish food is ultimately used by both the plants and fish. Second, the system does not require use of chemicals, which makes crops safer to consume. Third, the crops grown with this method have a low chance of exposure to pests and diseases. Finally, by utilizing two sources of food in one system, aquaponics can potentially outperform current farming methods at a large scale. Overall, aquaponics can save the community space and money while producing more food.