Hands-On STEM Fundraiser

Help Us Make STEM real at Mezzacello Urban Farm

Mezzacello | 33 North 20th Street, Columbus, OH 43203

SAVE THE DATE!

This year, for the first time ever, we are holding the Hands-On STEM Fundraiser here at Mezzacello Urban Farm.

  • The event will begin at 4:00 and run until 7:30.

  • There will be staff on hand to offer tours, explain some of the technology, permaculture, and plants and animals we have on the farm.

  • All proceeds will benefit directly to programs and student scholarships.

  • Visit our Events Page to see our camps and workshop options!

History of Mezzacello

2015

  • Mezzacello started as a proof of concept in how hands-on Applied STEM and systems integration and technology could be co-integrated in a modern urban farm in 2015. I was working with the PAST Foundation on a grant to help schools and teachers build ecological and agricultural systems at 15 different sites around Ohio. The program was not as successful as we'd hoped.

  • On a whim, I began installing permaculture, animals, composting, farm, and growing infrastructure on my 1/3 actre plot in downtown Columbus, OH. I wanted to model the way these systems COULD be integrated into a densely populated urban environment.

2018

  • I added robotics, sensors, and water treatment systems into my integrated, enclosed ecosystems at Mezzacello and tested them for a year. All reports live on myblog at Mezzacello.org.

2020 (COVID Lockdown)

  • I used money from an Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation Grant to improve infrastructure and take the farm off grid using solar and wind power as well as batteries and AC inverters.

2021

  • Began running my first summer camps in BioEngineering and BioTechnology with a focus on careers in STEM and better understanding ecology and systems integration.

2022

  • I continued my engineering and biology summer camps and expanded them to include biochemistry, and renewable energy systems.

2023

  • I continued running camps and started offering weekend and weekday workshops on diverse topics like quantum effects in nature, fundamental chemistry, integrating earth cycles into the tech at Mezzacello, and open farm days and hosting the public at events at the farm as well as corporate team building events.

2024

  • Mezzacello Urban Farm is a state of the art traditional farm and applied STEM learning lab that is a model for how a hands-on applied STEM environment can better help kids see career pathways in STEM, and discover the power of nutrition and good food. We have four shed/labs that are focused on livestock, biology, energy, and engineering.