As the rapid advancement of CCD began to reach feverish levels in June of this year, President Obama created a task force charged with solving the mystery within 180 days. The response from America’s brightest minds was swift and penetrating.
Harvard University scientists have come up with a deceptively simple solution that could also provide a potential boon for the nation’s growing drone industry: Replace the dead bees with micro-aerial vehicles that pollinate on command—robo-bees. It’s a gamble, but in these disruptive times, even nature needs to innovate if it wants to stay relevant.
Like “a mechanical flash mob,” as one journalist put it, the robo-bees are able to efficiently function within a swarm of thousands and self-assemble into a variety of shapes, including letters, numbers and even a five pointed star.
But it’s not just anthophila that are dying en masse. Neonic pesticides have also been linked to a more general decline in insect populations across the map, which has created a schism in nature’s managerial structure — fewer insects means less food for birds, which means fewer birds and so on and so forth.
From an engineering perspective, birds present a more complex challenge. One area where their robotic analogs could be of use is to replace a bird’s traditional function of spreading seeds from the various plant life it consumes.
Follow the grower’s calendar for Fast Plants® to help get your plan underway. Use the links to find more detailed instructions about each task.
Plants and butterflies … they coexist in nature. Isn’t it time they were brought together in the classroom?
Low-cost, good for group experiments and stacking in vertical space.
Use a wooden bank or PVC for this horizontal space efficient system.
Plant Light House
Plant Lighting System 
Individual Plant Light 
Recycled Bottle Growing Systems – made from small or large plastic soda bottles.
Recycled Deli Container
Observe germinating seeds and grow seedlings for days in a Petri dish. Quick way to model Mendelian inheritance patterns.
A soil-less mix or seed starter from your local garden or hardware store.
Time-release, pelleted fertilizer like 
Wisconsin Fast Plants Standard Stock
Wisconsin Fast Plants Genetic Hybrids and MutantsSpecialized plant types for investigating topics such as: genetics, physiology, and environmental studies.
The light bank system is most appropriate for growing large numbers of plants. 
The Plant Light Box is a low-cost alternative for growing Fast Plants® and other plants. It is ideal for small classroom experiments or group projects, and is designed so students and teachers can build their own.
Two stackable plastic file crates that measure 17 1/4″ x 14 1/4″ x 11 1/2″ (sold at an office supply store). Notice that we like to use crates that have either a solid bottom or a solid plastic spot in the center of the long sides because this is where we will attach the light.
Light Box System
Light Bank System