Science Students Deserve Better Tools
Textbooks explain photosynthesis. The Forge of Creation and Smithy, your personal Plant Coach AI, let students live it. Real plants, real data, real responsibility!
Empower Your Classroom: Hands-On Hydroponics
Professional Development Day
Brought to you by 4-H
Join Allegheny County 4-H and The Forge of Creation for an exclusive Professional Development day. Attend the training, take home a complete vertical growing system, and launch your school's living STEM lab at no cost.
Our education partners
4-H Penn State Extension
Slippery Rock University
Turnkey Curriculum
Developed alongside the experts. Ready to teach.
Co-Developed with Industry Leaders
Allegheny County 4-H Partnership
Curriculum refined through partnership with trusted youth education organization
Student Collaborated
Working alongside 4-H youth in an innovative application of AI & AgTech, which allowed the students to create the educational experience that they find most engaging.
Foster STEM Curiosity
Chemistry, Graphing, Biology, Trend Analysis, Research, and real-world AI Application all in one platform.
What's Included
- ✓ Complete lesson plan library (K-12)
- ✓ Student activity worksheets
- ✓ Data collection templates
- ✓ Assessment rubrics
- ✓ Teacher's guide & resource kit
How It Works
- ✓ Simple plug-and-play integration
- ✓ Works in science, biology, environmental classes
- ✓ Optional: Cross-curricular connections
- ✓ Scalable: Single class or school-wide
You're not just buying hardware. You're buying a complete teaching solution developed by educators, for educators.
Real Learning Outcomes
When students grow food, they learn for real.
Hands-On Learning
Students conduct real experiments and observe results week by week
Data Science
Collect, analyze, and present real plant growth data from their own system
Biology & Botany
Deep understanding of plant biology, growth cycles, and hydroponic systems
Engineering Design
Learn about systems thinking, automation, and problem-solving
Collaboration
Small groups (2-8 students) foster teamwork and shared responsibility
Sustainability
Understand circular agriculture and sustainable food production
Perfectly Sized for Individual Engagement
Our 20- and 40-plant towers are intentionally sized to maximize student responsibility and ownership for up to 20 students! They not only get to individually grow their plant, but take it home at the end of the curriculum to keep their curiosity thriving for months to come!
The Sweet Spot
Large enough for meaningful crop production, small enough that every student has hands-on responsibility
Collaborative Learning
Students rotate responsibilities—watering, data collection, troubleshooting, harvesting. Everyone learns everything.
Space Efficient
Fits in any classroom corner. A school can run many systems in a single room or greenhouse if desired. 13x systems fit in a standard 10' x 20' greenhouse
School Packages
Priced for schools. We accept standard purchase orders and grants.
Hardware
- ✓Select our 20 or 40 Plant System
- ✓Keep teaching with easy cleaning
- ✓4x Lights Included
- ✓1 year included of Smithy, your personal Plant Coach AI, and the management suite with a system purchase
- ✓Upgrade at any time to get the Hands-on Hydroponics Curriculum
Hardware and Management Suite
- ✓Choose your hardware.
- ✓Get Smithy, your personal Plant Coach AI, with the full management suite to level up your classroom's curiosity.
- ✓Manage your fleet of systems across your campus in the Smithy management suite.
- ✓Upgrade at any time to get Hands-on Hydroponics Curriculum
Full Suite
- ✓Choose your hardware
- ✓All the Smithy management suite benefits
- ✓Unlock the ultimate engagement curriculum for your students
- ✓Designed alongside students from 4-H to maximize curiosity and engagement
📋 We Accept Standard School Purchase Orders and Grants
If your school has grant funding or budget allocation, we can work with your procurement process.
Educator Questions
Partner ecosystem
Partner programs for circular nutrition. Explore bioponics and bring increased yields and lower environmental impact through beneficial bacteria pairing to your classroom!
Ecotone Renewables
Partner — food-waste digesters & liquid fertilizer
Through our partner Ecotone Renewables, operators can route food waste into nutrient-rich liquid fertilizers. What leaves your kitchen or harvest bench can feed the next grow cycle.
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Zero Waste Operations
Convert food waste into valuable nutrients instead of landfills
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Marketing Gold
Tell a sustainable, circular story customers connect with
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Cost Reduction
Lower purchased fertilizer use when regenerated nutrients fit your program
Optional partner product
Why Soil Sauce®?
- ✓
Easy to apply with precision dropper bottles — half a dropper per plant
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Safe for all plant types with no chemical additives
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Pet-friendly: nontoxic if pets accidentally ingest treated soil
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Gentle 0.1-0.1-0.1 NPK formula — virtually no risk of burning plants
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Sustainably produced from rescued food waste
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Supports local circular economy initiatives
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See Soil Sauce labeling for supported use cases and any third-party claims
Ready to Transform Your Science Classroom?
Request your educator information packet, schedule a demo, or just ask questions. We're here to help.