Ask students to imagine they are on a deserted island, and the gears start to turn. Use this lesson to encourage your students to think outside of the box to come up with a way to cultivate vegetation as a food source.  Present students with this scenario: They are shipwrecked and a few components of the ship wash ashore.  Their task is to figure out how to utilize those limited items from the ship to create a sustainable way to grow vegetables.

In this challenge, have students first design a prototype of a greenhouse-type structure. Have them then place plants inside and document plant growth to determine the design’s success.  How long does it take their seeds to germinate?  Encourage  students to measure the change in height of their vegetables every three days.

The pictures show students building their greenhouse and placing their seeds inside.  Which greenhouse do you think would allow the seed to grow the fastest?