We had a successful year sharing the taste and fragrance of the Biodome oasis with the community.
At Okemos’ Bennett Woods Elementary School’s Science Night, we gave kids a coloring book drawing of tropical fruit trees they could attach scented felt fruit to. The essential oil fragrances of banana, orange, lime, mint, and coconut on the colorful fruit cutouts, gave the kids an aromatic, multi-sensory moment, hinting at the future Fruit Walks and Sense Hikes in the Biodome.
We had a weeklong showing of the live-plant, scale model of the Biodome in the East Lansing Public Library Maker Space. The week began with the little kids having fun building the model! It was the brainstorm of Eric Berling, the Library’s STEAM Director, to have the children be the Makers. 10 kids and their parents put it together in only four hours and had a grand time playing in the mud and moss!
The rest of the week everybody who came through the library saw the beautiful, informative Biodome display.
We were invited to participate in the MSU Residence Hall Association Spring Showcase fundraiser, where we raised $255 and promoted the Biodome model display at the library, going on at the same time. Spring semester ended in a flourish!
In the fall, we built the model for Sparticipation, the Registered Student Organization welcome opener for the semester. It looked good and got plenty of interest.
A few weeks later, the students had a fun marching with our banner in the Homecoming Parade.
Most of the semester was focused on making the Global Fruit & Fragrance Festival + Terrarium Making a big success. We sampled fruit weekly, trying to get the best ripeness. With an $850 award of support from State after Dark and the MSU Health and Wellness Program we expanded the fragrances to 17 essential oils, building on the multi-sensory experience theme. We collected stones and twigs and practiced getting terrarium making right. It all came together on a splendid Friday night. We offered students samples of 18 fruits, prickly pear to jackfruit, 17 fragrances, and lots of terrarium components to be creative with. Everyone enjoyed the unique mix of a tasty, fragrant, festive, creative, and relaxing vibe.
We also had a few fun parties, and celebrated with thanks and recognition, our Vice President Niki Srikrishna, bestowing her with the Biodome blue, green, and white Honor Cord for her graduation!
The tricolors represent blue for the air and water that circle our earth, the green for the peaceful leaf, and the white for the nobleness of our cause to bring people together for a better future living closer to nature.
Thank you for your support, you have made all this possible.