Abstract Detail

Education and Outreach

Siniscalchi, Carolina [1], Moore, Erika [1], Parsley, Kathryn [2], Sabel, Jamie [1], Mandel, Jennifer [1].

Compositae in a Crate: an outreach initiative to promote plant awareness.

In the last decades, several studies have shown that students prefer to learn about animals than plants and usually have more difficult remembering plant names or even noticing them in the environment. This could have an impact over conservation programs and initiatives, as animals are usually considered more important and therefore deemed worthier of conservation efforts. Giving students an opportunity to connect to plants and understand how they affect their lives may be key to raising their awareness to the issue. Compositae, also known as Asteraceae or the sunflower and daisy family, is the largest family of flowering plants, accounting for about 10% of flowering plant diversity in the world. They are present in virtually all biomes and environments, and although there are plenty of endemic and microendemic species, some species are widespread and even considered pests or invasive. Some members of the family are widely cultivated as crops, such as sunflower, lettuce, artichoke and chicory; several species are grown as ornamental plants; and others are used in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry. This presence of Compositae in so many different contexts make the family a good object for activities aiming to increase plant awareness, as several of Compositae species are already present in our everyday lives. Here we present Compositae in a Crate, a teacher-guided outreach activity aimed at the 4^th and 5^th school grades. This crate of activities contains three different modules focusing in different aspects of the sunflower family: biodiversity, morphology and society. Each module has different learning objectives and can be used independently from each other. A guide and different activities, such as flash cards, puzzles and 3D models are provided for each module. The activities will be prepared in the context of the national and state of Tennessee education standards for the 4th and 5th grades. The produced crates will be available at different institutions and all materials will be made available online so other interested parties can produce their own crates.

1 - University of Memphis, Biological Sciences Department, Ellington Hall, 3700 Walker Ave, Memphis, TN, 38152, United States
2 - University of Memphis, Biological Sciences Department, Ellington Hall, 3700 Walker Ave, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA

Keywords:
Asteraceae
plant blindness
outreach.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P, Education and Outreach Posters
Location: Arizona Ballroom/Starr Pass
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2019
Time: 5:30 PM This poster will be presented at 5:30 pm. The Poster Session runs from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Posters with odd poster numbers are presented at 5:30 pm, and posters with even poster numbers are presented at 6:15 pm.
Number: PEO007
Abstract ID:431
Candidate for Awards:None