HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1990-04-25, Page 15• r
THE HBJRON EXPOSITOR, APRIL 25, 1990 .— 15
pace invaders ren tt'
Seaforth District High School has a few
'visitorshanging around the science labs.
They're small, green and they're from
outer space, but no-one seems too worried
about them.
In fact, students have been feeding them
regularly, and a few brave souls plan to
take one or two of them home for the sum-
mer holidays.
Then stick them in the ground po see if
they grow.
They're 'space tomatoes', and they're
right here in town. Seaforth High science
teachers Steve Hook and Doug Proctor
have been leading their Grade 10 general
and advanced level students through a
series of experiments with the tomato
seeds, which were distributed to interested
schools throughout. North America under
the SEEDS (Space Exposed Eaiperiinent
Developed for Rhadents) program.
SEEDS, a. cooperative p!rojee involving
'NASA .and the Parti Seed qolnpany from
South caroling,. offers students a unique
hands-on study experience to exarpine the
effects of long4en(n space exposure on liv-
ing tissue. It is.estimated that over 4
million students. and 40,000 educators
across the continent will become involved
in the project. •
Mr. Steve Hook noticed a write-up in the
London Free Press late in January; en-
couraging science teachers to send away
for some of the 180,000 SEEDS kits that
were being made available to teachers
from the upper elementary school levels to
Universities for testing and study. He
wrote away immediately, and by late
March the space invaders had made it to
the school.
Packaged along with the space tomato
seeds were packets of.irarth=tiased see'ils
for cross-referencing and comparison.
Under the SEEDS'prpgram;, -US amnion
Rutgers .tomata Seeds were sent intq'.�p�aea
the space shuttle .Ghallengei�' qp
April 4, 1984. Por six long years the. seeds
were exposed to the harsh environment of
space, subjected •to cosmic radiation,
temperature extremes, weightlessness and
the vacuum of space. After floating around
in' the eeosmos aboard' the 11 -ton Long
Duration Exposure Facility satellite, the
hapless seeds were rescued by the crew of
the shuttle 'Columbia' on January 12. 1990.
The students at S.D.H.S. will soon be
transplanting their batches of test seeds in-
to six-inch pots. All of the seeds sprouted
after about a week of germination,
although Mr. Hook notes that the batch of
space seeds that were labelled from Levels
`C' and .'D'.in the storage cannisters seem
to be growing especially well. The growth
of the plants is being carefully monitored
by the . students, s and details
reeaaatealeata ai'e token twitcel a tyweek
stud will be on the look -out' or
any possible mutations .to the tomato
plants such as changes in fruit size and
col"our;'. growth rate, and leaf, stein and
statin shapes and sizes. Surprisingly, it has
been discovered by scientists that the
Popular pink grapefruit is actually a muta-
tion resulting from the irradiation of a
white grapefruit seed.
There was n tremendous outcry from
Concerned ,groups when the SEEDS ex-
periments first became known, and many
warnings were issued by doomsayers about
the potential dangers of experimenting
with space -exposed seeds. Mi': Hook and
Mr. Proctor assured the students that the
outcry was groundless, and the students
agree.
"They heard it on the news and they
thought it was ridiculous," Mr. Proctor
said.
"Most of the kids aren't the least bit
concerned," Mr. Hook agreed."They want
to grow the tomatoes and make sand-
wiches out of them," he added, noting with
a chuckle that nobody has lost any hair so
far, "..and I don't think we're going to lose
any, either."
nc I S
•
d NASA was *0. vorY'league-in-cheek
• over the issue, ink* ' t olurnbie' crew
played the. theme st to:*he &movie,tack of :the filler TeMatoes" over, a
loudspeaker when; they Fetcieved the space.
exposed seeds froin their orbit in January.
At the end of theschool year, the tomato
glai►fs wili be• taken home by. the students
"tyli.Fe thy will b transplanted into the Poll'
eon further studied, .It is hoped that at
least one tomato .can be grown ,from each
test group in order that the experiments
can be repeated next year in the 2nd
generation plants. Mr. Proctor explained
that any mutations that may occur in the
plants would not be apparent until the 2nd
generation anyhow, as a rule.
The schools with the SEEDS packages
will be forwarding the results of their in-
vestigations"to NASA by mid-June for data
tabulation. Studies on the plants at the
university level will be more extensive, in-
volving chromosomal experimentation, but
for the students at S.D.H.S. the space
tomatoes may be a once-in-a-lifetime
phenomenon and an interesting break from
the norm.
As Mr. Steve Hook puts it, "It's an op-
portunity to do something that's not in a
book."
At Cook's we have the
help
pandproductsto
Y grow prortably
Let Cook's help you get your crop into the
ground this spring. We handle a full range of
dry and liquid fertilizers, crop protection
products and quality seed. With over 100 years
of experience, the experts at Cook's can help
you develop a crop program that's both
economical and effective in reaching your
yield goals. For everything you need this spring,
come to Cook's.
Nobody puts
more into
helping you grow
a profitable crop.
Part of the Cook's Crop Input 'loam
(from left to right):
Harold Foster — Centralia Agri -Sales
Representative, 16 years with Cook's
Paul Bushell — Amberley
Branch Manager, 3 years
with Cook's
Bill Webster — Walton Agri -Sales
Representative, first year with Cook's
CHARTING THE GROWTH RATE of their space tomatoes, Mr. Hook's and Mr. Proctor's classes are experimenting with
Leanne Charters (left) and Michelle Dillon take measurements the NASA seeds for research projects. _Elliott photo.
of the shoots in their Grade 10 advanced level science class.
Hol -tic
tura Society ear abo
The Seaforth Horticultural Society met
on April 11, 1990 at Seaforth Public School.
President Nancy Kale welcomed everyone
and thanked the Social Committee for
- organizing such a successful pot luck sup-
per in March.
Plans were confirmed for the booth at
the Home and Garden Show. Members will
be telephoned for donations and some
members will be making mug holders to
be sold. There will be a draw for a large
house plant for members.
Nancy Kale, Effie Stephenson and Isabel
Scott travelled to the District 8 annual
meeting hosted by Walkerton on April 14.
Gerald Groothius announced that the
plant sale will be held on Saturday, May
12 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon in the
store previously occupied by George of
Brussels.
Members were reminded of the annual
O.H.A. convention at York University from
June 19th - 21st. Contact Helen or Nancy
if you plan to attend.
The Hensall and Seaforth Society are
hosting a bus trip to Niagara Falls on
June 11 at a cost of $46.00. If interested,
contact Marj Phillips.
Dilys Finnigan reported a membership of
93.
Fred Prescod of the Royal Botanical
Gardens gave an interesting presentation
on "Herbs and Their Uses." The May 9th
t herbs and thein- uses
meeting will be a Question and Answer
period featuring noted .members of the
Society.
Dilys Finnigan won the prize for the best
Easter bonnet.
The Seaforth Society is invited to attend
the Blyth Horticultural Society meeting on
Tuesday, May 8 iri Blyth Memorial Hall at
8:00 p.m. Call Nancy (345-2908) if you
would like a ride.
Branches: Hensall (519) 262-2410
Centralia (519) 228-6661
Kirkton (519) 229-8986
Walton (519) 527-1540
Amberley (519) 395-3601
Atwood (519) 356-2292
Division of
Parish 6t Heimbecker, Limited
TREE PLANTING AT ST. JAMES - White pine seedlings ar•
e planted in the school
yard of St. James school as pert of their Earth Day promotion. Oxford photo.
'` Where you can trade with confidence."
Good Yard Help C..
IsEasytoFind
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