The South Tyneside schoolkids who grew and nurtured 'seeds from space' in 2016
Rocketing back in time for this St Aloysius Federation memory from 2016
What an out of this world project that was for a South Tyneside school 10 years ago.
Pupils at St Aloysius in Hebburn planted ‘seeds from space’ as part of a national scientific experiment.
Youngsters from St Aloysius spent six weeks nurturing and growing salad leaf rocket from two batches of seeds and in a wonderful development, one of the packs had spent time on the international space station.
The project was being run by the Space Agency and supported by British astronaut Tim Peake, who launched the project from a video message during his space trip.
The Shields Gazette said at the time: “The comparison has never been made on this scale before.”
In charge of the project at St Aloysius was former teacher Angela Harrison, who turned her interest in science and maths into her own business.
Pupils were required to plant the seeds separately in trays, with students recording the number of leaves and growth on a wall chart following guidance from the Royal Horticultural Society.
The experiment aimed to further understand how factors such as zero gravity can affect plant growth and development.
It was hoped the results would help scientists to determine which crops will be the best to grow in a space garden.
The seeds spent six months in space before they were brought back to Earth and handed out to the 8,500 schools, children’s clubs and societies who signed up to take part.
Pupils who took part in the experiment would each receive a CREST star award from the British Science Association.
Mrs Harrison said at the time "The pupils absolutely loved it and the feedback from the school has been brilliant.
"They found it really interesting and loved comparing the growth of the seeds.
"The pupils were really engaged with everything.
"Every session they remained focused on what they were doing and asked lots of questions."
We want to know if you were one of the children who took part and what you remember about the seeds from space project.
Get in touch and share your 2016 memories by emailing [email protected]