Tuesday, August 14, 2007

New Plants and Solar Fountain

Slowly but surely the elements of the Technology Garden are coming together. We have the plants for the user study. As shown in the photo, we have three species of plants for the pilot study: Fatsia Japonica, Caladium, and a type of Philodendron. They look gorgeous in the room. It will be kind of sad when they leave with their caretakers at the end of the pilot study. We've also gotten the solar fountain set up and installed. I placed the solar panel in the window and when the sun hits the window full on, the pump churns impressively. The pump doesn't seem to work when the sun is indirect. This bothered me at first, but I found that it functioned well as a primitive sensor. I'm now much more aware of slight changes of light outside during the day. If the users learn half as much as we have while building the Tech Garden, I think the project will be a great success.