Preserving the world's seeds - The Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Entrance to the Seed Vault

It sounds like an installation from an apocalyptic science fiction movie. In Spitsbergen (Norway) is an underground vault that stores samples of important plant seeds. The location was chosen because it lacked tectonic activity and had permafrost, which aids preservation. Its being 130 metres above sea level will keep the site dry even if the ice caps melt.



The Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV) officially opened on 26 February 2008. As of March 2013, the number of distinct samples has increased to 770,000 (out of approximately 1.5 million distinct seed samples of agricultural crops which are thought to exist).



Svalbard Global Seed Vault - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Teachers' predictions of the Future of Education

Open Colleges asked six global education professionals to predict the future of education: Future of Education: What's Over the Horizon?

A visual history of Learning Technologies

Open Colleges Australia offer an visual overview of different learning technologies through the ages, from hieroglyphs and the abacus to digital technologies: The Evolution of Learning Technologies

Designing the future: The Venus Project

The Venus Project, initiated by designer Jacque Fresco, offers a technology-centric approach to designing the future of humanity. It is an example of Technological Utopianism.




The Venus Project captivates with futuristic looking architecture and technology but it is not without criticism: The Venus Project Debunked or this video:

The Venus/Zeitgeist Project goes beyond architecture and technology and envisions a world without government, private ownership, or money where everybody lives in futuristic houses and all the work is done by robots. It is interesting that the project wants to 'design' the future but without having anybody in charge.

Microsoft's Vision of the future from 2000

Microsoft's vision of the future from 2000.

What was missing from your science education?

Science Laboratory
[Image source: http://www.chrisvandyke.com.au/data/photos/948_1science_lab1.jpg]

My short essay for the NextGen contest got published in 'Science'. The question was: What was missing from your science education? See the article here.

STEM Education Apps You Need in 2015

This blog post lists 25 STEM Education Apps You Need in 2015.  Some of them are free while others need to be bought.

I found the DAQRI anatomy 4D app particularly interesting: One can print out the markers and can then see an augmented human body. You can highlight different organs. See more here: