MARKETS in PHILADELPHIA   (READING TERMINAL MARKET AND/OR ASIA SUPERMARKET)
9:00 – 10:00 AM. March 28, 2003. 
NSTA Annual Convention Short Course:
Exotic Excursions in Botany

Purpose: 
The generation of teaching ideas

The topical context: 
Plants and People (Ethnobotany; economic botany), an exemplary topic area that brings together a number of concerns related to humans, culture, society, and science.

The tasks:

In your group define survey questions you would like to investigate and then decide how you will gather information. (develop a survey protocol) 

Before you begin, estimate the number of kinds (species? genus? family?) of plant represented in the markets. (You might want to distinguish between fresh and processed plant products.)

If you know (or if you had a comprehensive list), are there more kinds of old world or new world plant represented? Why do you think so?

New world = North and South America before Columbus;
Old world = Europe, Africa, Asia (including the Middle East) before Columbus;
Other world = Australia (smile) before the Europeans arrived

Examples of plants from the New world: Capsicum (bell peppers and chilis); corn (maize);  tomato; potato, cocoa-chocolate, vanilla.

Examples of plants from the Old world: Wheat, soybeans, eggplant, black pepper, nutmeg, rice, sugar cane.

Examples of plants from Australia: Eucalyptus; melaleuca.

The survey:

•	Visit the Reading Terminal Market (just south of the convention center) and/or the Asia Supermarket  (143 N. 11th Street). Keep separate data lists for each venue visited.
•	Construct a list of all the plants and plant materials you find—based on kind—variety/species/genus. Collect information for those data fields that correspond to your survey question(s). Suggestions for data fields follow:

Plant
Name(s) (English, Scientific, Other vernacular)
Botanic relatives
Plant part
Fresh or  processed
Use (culinary, medicinal, other—collect recipes for preparation when you can)
Description of plant material (verbal, olfactory, gustatory, sketch, digital image, sample)
Does plant material exhibit potential for propagation
Cost
Familiarity
Botanical origin (old vs. new world)
Agricultural origin (where was particular specimen grown?)
Seen in other venues in the market area (keep tally).

•	Select other fields that might prove beneficial in developing teaching ideas.

•	With the funds allotted, purchase the most interesting/unusual plant part(s) or product(s) you can find.

•	Once your group has made as exhaustive a survey as you can in 1 hour,  return to the Convention Center with your results. Each group will share their survey findings, the flours solution, and, ideas and inspirations for teaching. 

•	Questions to consider for analysis:

•	What is the total number of kinds you have counted?
•	What kinds (species, parts, old-new world origin, etc.) were most common? Most rare?
•	What plants and/or plant products were most expensive? 
•	Where were they grown? 
•	What is their use?
•	Who in your group is most familiar with the plants and plant products? 
•	Who is least familiar? 
•	Who has grown plants for food before in gardens or farms? 
•	What have they grown? 
•	How many of the plants were unfamiliar? 
•	What is the ratio of familiar to unfamiliar plants?
•	What is the strangest plant and/or plant material found by your group? Explain.
•	What colors dominate the fresh plants being sold (does this vary from stall to stall to store and shop?)?
•	How many different kinds of root or underground part do you find?
•	What plant or plant materials seems to be most popular? Based on what indicator?
•	What plant or plant product traveled the farthest to reach the market?
•	Which plant seems to have the largest number of names?
•	Interesting lore about the plant (conversations with buyers and sellers)?
•	How many of the fresh plant materials look as if they could be propagated?
•	How many kinds of starch/flour/meal can you find? How many plants are represented?

•	Develop some different questions (5 minimum) that could be used by your students on 
a class trip to a market.