The Institute of Competition Sciences is honored to announce that the Plant the Moon Challenge is one of thirteen programs offered by the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council on the 2025-26 STEM Scale-Up Program menu.

 

About the STEM Scale-Up Program

The STEM Scale-Up Program provides high-quality STEM education offerings to schools, afterschool programs and other settings for grades pre-K through 12.

Educators in Iowa now have a unique opportunity to apply through the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council website to receive full funding for the Fall 2025 or Spring 2026 season of the Plant the Moon Challenge.

Along with program funding, participants will receive an $80 stipend for attending a virtual, half-day professional development session. This session provides the tools and knowledge needed to implement the program successfully.

 

About the Plant the Moon Challenge

The Plant the Moon Challenge (PTMC) is more than a science experiment; it’s an immersive, hands-on learning experience and project-based learning competition.

Working collaboratively in teams of up to 10, students grow vegetable crops using lunar and Martian regolith simulants, pushing the boundaries of agricultural science and engineering.

Participants follow a comprehensive Project Guide as they design and conduct their own plant growth experiments. Students must define critical parameters, such as the structure of their growth setups, water usage, and the nutrients added to the regolith simulant. Throughout the 12-week project period, teams are guided by weekly email engagements and provided access to four live events with NASA subject matter experts, researchers, and program staff to help teams advance through their experimental designs, gathering data, and analyzing their results.

Once the experiments are complete, teams submit photos, videos, and detailed reports. Awards are given for the most successful plant growth results and innovative experimental designs, celebrating student achievement and creativity. High school teams are even eligible to win a trip to the Kennedy Space Center!

 

Program Timeline and Key Events

PTMC offers two annual seasons:

• Fall Season: Kicks off with an opening symposium in mid-September, with final project reports due in early December.
• Spring Season: Begins with an opening symposium in mid-January, with project reports due in early April.

Specific event dates and additional program details will be shared during the summer Training Program.

 

Connecting to Iowa Academic Standards

The Plant the Moon Challenge is not only aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards, but also with Iowa’s academic standards, providing students with meaningful learning experiences that bridge classroom concepts with real-world applications.

Key areas of alignment include:

Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science (ETS):

• Designing experiments to test agricultural technologies for space.
• Addressing engineering challenges aligned with HSETS12 (Design and engineering process) and HSETS13 (Evaluating solutions).

Earth and Space Science:

• Exploring sustainable practices for space agriculture.
• Emphasizing HSESS32 (Natural resources) and HSESS33 (Human impacts on Earth systems).

Life Science:

• Investigating ecological principles through hands-on experiments related to crop growth in simulated space environments.
• Highlighting LS26 (Ecosystem interactions) and LS28 (Ecosystem dynamics).

 

Application Process and Informational Webinar

Applications for the Scale-Up Program open on January 7, 2025 and close on March 3rd. Iowa educators interested in bringing this innovative program to their classrooms are encouraged to apply early: https://educate.iowa.gov/STEM/ScaleUp

 

To learn more about what participation through the Iowa Scale-Up Program entails, educators are invited to join us for an informational webinar on Wednesday, January 29th, at 4:00 PM CT.

This session will provide an overview of the program, guidance on the application process, and an opportunity to ask questions directly to the PTMC team. Register here: https://plantthemoon.com/all-events/

By participating in this program, Iowa educators and students can be part of a global effort to explore the future of space agriculture and inspire the next generation of innovators!