Build an on-campus vertical farm laboratory to empower a new ecosystem for science popularization education! Auma Agriculture - Shenzhen Mingde Experimental School

Auma Agriculture has customized an artificial light plant factory laboratory teaching solution for Shenzhen Mingde Experimental School, combining the teaching characteristics of primary and secondary schools with the actual campus space. The laboratory is equipped with a full set of professional equipment including germination boxes, seedling growth modules, planting growth modules, and a central control system, forming a complete plant growth loop from germination, seedling cultivation, planting, to harvesting. The germination boxes are equipped with microcomputer temperature control technology, which can precisely regulate temperature and humidity, set exclusive germination conditions for different crop seeds, and significantly improve germination rate and germination efficiency. The seedling growth module supports scheduled spraying, light supplement, and automatic water circulation, capable of cultivating 1,500 seedlings at a time, providing a stable environment for seedling growth. The planting growth module adopts an all-aluminum alloy frame, featuring scheduled lighting, air circulation and ventilation, automatic nutrient solution circulation, and supports remote network control, meeting the convenience needs of campus teaching.

The central control system, serving as the "smart brain" of the laboratory, integrates various sensors through IoT technology to collect real-time data such as environmental temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration, and EC and PH values of nutrient solution. It enables functions like intelligent light regulation, automatic fertilizer adjustment, and environmental indicator alerts, allowing students to intuitively experience the technological core of smart agriculture. Additionally, the laboratory utilizes π soil planting substrate, a novel medium developed by Auma Agriculture, primarily composed of coconut coir, humus soil, pine bark, and agricultural and forestry waste. This substrate boasts superior water retention, breathability, and root fixation, while being sterile, environmentally friendly, and odorless. It is suitable for campus indoor settings and enables students to understand the eco-friendly planting concept during the cultivation process.

Since its commissioning, the laboratory has become the core venue for science popularization education and labor practice at Mingde Experimental School. The vertical farm solution provided by Auma Agriculture deeply integrates "science popularization, exploration, participation, and experience". Under the guidance of teachers, students participate in all aspects of plant cultivation: from setting the germination box parameters based on seed characteristics, to observing seed germination and seedling emergence in the seedling cultivation area, to adjusting the growth environment through the control system after planting the seedlings, and finally harvesting mature vegetables by themselves. In this process, students not only systematically learn agricultural knowledge such as the plant growth cycle and the impact of environmental conditions on plant growth, but also enhance their practical abilities and scientific inquiry thinking through hands-on operations.

Compared to traditional classroom teaching, this laboratory has achieved a brand-new upgrade in labor-experience teaching. Students can explore the mysteries of plant growth by comparing the growth status of plants under different lighting and water-fertilizer conditions. By monitoring and adjusting nutrient solution data in real time, they can understand the core principles of soilless cultivation. This immersive teaching mode allows students to gain a deeper understanding of nature and agriculture beyond just textbooks. It also cultivates students' awareness of loving nature and respecting labor, allowing them to feel the joy of harvest through their efforts. Meanwhile, the laboratory's accompanying agricultural education popularization courses enrich the school's curriculum system and provide a high-quality carrier for the implementation of quality education.

This collaboration serves as a typical implementation case of Auma Agriculture's educational plant factory, fully demonstrating the adaptability and practicality of its technical solutions in campus settings. Leveraging its professional equipment R&D capabilities, comprehensive teaching program design, and attentive implementation services, Auma Agriculture has created an operable, exploratory, and experiential smart agriculture teaching platform for Shenzhen Mingde Experimental School. This brings smart agriculture into the campus, empowers education with technology, and provides a new perspective for the innovative development of science popularization education in primary and secondary schools.