9361139 Shaffer In the near future, our children will make choices that will significantly change all life on earth. Thus, it is imperative that they obtain a coherent overview of how the biosphere operates and of how they are participants in that operation. A fascination for children of all ages and attitudes, Closed-Ecological-Systems (CES)--developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for Life- Support Studies and further researched for the past two decades at the University of Hawaii--are a gallon-sized simplified analogue of the biosphere that will autonomously recycle its elements and support life for decades. While CES, which are considered authentic "mini-planets," have obvious instructional value concerning global ecologic topics, currently marketed CES novelties are static and of limited usefulness. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to investigate the feasibility of developing a specialized interactive CES- photobioreactor containing shrimp-algae and even fish-plant ecosystems and incorporating accurate but inexpensive instrumentation; accompanied by defined media; experimental protocols; and short instructional text modules to serve as a supplemental educational aid applicable to grades K-12. The project has the potential to contribute a hands-on approach to explore a variety of major ecologic principles from the simple to the sophisticated and to offer the educator a vehicle for which to introduce related environmental subjects. ***
