In the near future, our children will make choices that will significantly change all life on earth. It is imperative they obtain a coherent overview of how the biosphere operates, and how they are participants. Closed-Ecological-Systems (CES) were developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for Life-Support Studies and have been in research for over 20 years at the University of Hawaii. CES are considered authentic mini-planets_a gallon-sized simplified analogue of the biosphere that will autonomously recycle its elements and support life for decades. CES are a fascination for children of all ages and attitudes. While these have obvious instructional value concerning global ecologic topics, currently marketed CES novelties are static and of limited usefulness. A specialized interactive CES-photobioreactor, accompanied by defined media, experimental protocols, and short instructional text modules are being developed. This is a supplemental educational aid applicable to grades K-12. The reactor contains shrimp-algae and even fishplant ecosystems. It incorporates accurate but inexpensive instrumentation. The project is a hands-on approach to explore a variety of major ecologic principles from the simple to the sophisticated. It additionally offers the educator a vehicle in which to introduce related environmental subjects.The potential commercial application as described by the awardee: Research will result in an improved ecologic educational aid applicable to grades K- 12.
