Another Generation of Generators
My 2024/2025 CAHS intern working on a design challenge to help students better understand physical electricity. Here they are ready to install wind power, solar power and an electrical load.
War of The Winds: Evolution
I am on the FOURTH iteration of wind turbines here at Mezzacello Urban Farm. We started with a traditional horizontal axis wind turbines. Then I switched to the vertical axis flower turbines. Now I am exploring vertical blade vertical axis wind turbines in new configurations.
A System Winds Through It
This blogpost is about a rebellious chick who survived a wild night out in Mezzacello Urban Farm but survived because of the integrated systems she is standing on in this photo. Let’s talk about it.
Generations of Livestock at an Urban Farm
On an urban Farm, livestock pay a VERY important role in developing healthy ecologies and environmentally stable and sustainable systems. Fortunately they can also build their own ranks. Baby animals on a farm.
An Urban Farm Midden
A midden is one important way that archaeologists and anthropologists understand a site or a culture. It what the “trash” of a site looks like. This is what an urban farm midden looks like at Mezzacello Urban Farm.
The HVAC Struggle at Mezzacello
After 10 long years of living at Mezzacello, in 2024 we finally got working furnaces (we were heating the house with gas fireplaces all these years) and two brand new AC Units - that didn’t work.
Portable Energy Generation systems (PEGs)
An emerging aspect of our mission to Grow, Maintain, Sustain, and Explain is improved portable units to teach our Applied STEM systems in more locations. PEGs is the latest offering. Portable Energy Generation systems.
An Engineered and Mobile Ecology
Last week the kids in my Biomechanics summer camp created a very innovative mobile, sustainable animal cage from scratch! Learn how they did it here.
Multiple Career Hats at Mezzacello
At Mezzacello Urban Farms kids wear different hats every day! What careers do you think they might be interested in?!
Prepping For The Environmental and Climate Justice Academy
Become a part of the Ohio EPA-funded FREE Environmental an Climate Justice Academy! Learn more here!
Baby Garden Assassins
Baby ducks and their mother are truly garden assassins! Ther will not be a tick, a mosquito, or a cicada that will survive I should think!
Biomimicry and BioEngineering
The door to the biodome has been plaguing me. But my 10-year-old bioengineering intern came up with an ingenious design based on a dick’s wing.
Activity: Plants to Paper
This is an easy workshop activity that is also a great deal of fun to make. In this activity we will make everything to make paper!
2024 Earth Day School Visits
Introducing Mezzacello Mobile Labs for energy, bioengineering, and biotechnology! Just in time for Earth Day 2024! Learn More.
2023 Mezzacello Annual Report
This is our first official Annual Report for Mezzacello Urban Farm. I am pretty proud of it and I want to see much more growth!
Mezzacello Urban Farm and the Story of Two Maps
This is a blogpost of Mezzacello's evolution from a side yard farm to a 21st Century applied STEM Learning Lab.
Mezzacello Urban Farm As A Formal Garden
This is a blogpost of Mezzacello's Formal Garden plan (the gardens that front 20th Street to the east of the farm.
Workshop: Partners not Pets
This workshop looks at the way humans, animals, and ecosytems interact with Applied STEM and engineering.
Mezzacello Zoo Brew Adventures 2023
A while back I was offered 25 cubic yards of ZooBrew Manure from our local zoo. I opted for 10 cubic yards. I'm glad I did!
Workshop: BioEngineering Basics
This workshop looks at the way simple machines interact with materials in the natural world. Applied STEM and engineering.