Senior Capstone Design ChallengeInteractive Herbarium

Sheila Haggerty, Nicole Dellera, John Dempsey, Nicholas Heins, Brian Kempf, Nicholas McDonald, Stefanie Newman, Bright Okere, Chelsea Soriano

Herbarium display located at Delaware State University

Unpressed plant in a press

Background Information: __      Sandy Hook is a seven-mile long barrier spit, a very scientifically important part of the Gateway National Recreation Area.  The park serves as an excellent representation of any marine environment, as it is home to a variety of different plant and animal species.  Because the Sandy Hook area is so full of natural wildlife, it only seems logical to try to preserve some of this life, and make it available to all visitors of Sandy Hook.  The overall best method to preserve and make available this plant life is to make an herbarium, complete with pressed flora specimens, and corresponding descriptions and information.  Because an herbarium makes information and visual representation of an area’s plant life easily accessible, creating an herbarium located on Sandy Hook would be a first-rate way of showcasing the beautiful flora indigenous to the Hook.

Riker Boxes, used to display plants in an herbarium

Design Brief (General): We will gather and preserve all species of flora indigenous to the Sandy Hook area, and create an interactive exhibit displaying the different species.

Design Brief (Individual): We will research plants native to Sandy Hook, then gather, clean, dry, press, and mount them in full preparation for their placement in the herbarium.

A plant press in use, compacting plants so that they can be put on display

Specifications: ---Group must receive permit to enter and collect plants on Sandy Hook---Pressing/mounting/preserving methods must be researched and understood thoroughly before the group begins these processes.  The plants will be collected in the field, brought back to the lab, glued to pressing paper and left in the plant press.  Once pressed/dried, the plants will be mounted in Riker boxes.---Minimal time must be spent between collecting and preserving plants.  Once specimens are returned to the lab, they must immediately go into the plant press.---Every student must have two mentors---Group must plan out construction of interactive display---Plants that are either in endangered environments (dunes) or are endangered themselves will not be included in the herbarium.---The group must use pressing glue, pressing paper, plant presses, and Riker boxes to create the herbarium.

Works Cited: Bell, D. (2010, March 16). “In the Herb Garden.” Retrieved from http://www.herbcompanion.com/in-the-herb-garden/diy-create-a-plant-herbarium.aspx

Chamberland, M. “What is an Herbarium?” Retrieved from http://herbarium.msu.edu/definition.html

Davidson, John. (2008). “Herbarium Factsheet.” Retrieved from http://www.botanyjohn.org/en/learning-aids/herbarium-factsheet

Harvard University Herbaria. (2008, April 7). “What is an herbarium?” Retrieved from http://www.huh.harvard.edu/collections/whatis.html

Herbarium: Selection of Species from European flora. (2011). “How to make your herbarium.” Retrieved from http://herbarium.freehostia.com/herbier.php

Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Initials. (2011). “What is a herbarium?” Retrieved from http://apps.kew.org/herbcat/gotoWhatIsHerbarium.do

Neal, M. (2011, April 9). “Touring the Herbarium at DE State University.” Retrieved from http://marshasgardenblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/touring-herbarium-at-de-state.html

Northern Ontario Plant Database. (2011). “What is an Herbarium?” Retrieved from http://www.northernontarioflora.ca/herbarium.cfm

Saupe, Stephen G. (2009). “What is an Herbarium?” Retrieved from http://www1.csbsju.edu/herbarium/what_is.htm

Tarozzi, A. (1996). “A Herbarium.” Retrieved from http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/herb/herb.htm

Limitations: ---Plants may not be collected from environments outside of Sandy Hook---Group members may only use the materials with which we are provided (pressing glue and paper, plant presses, Riker boxes).---All group members must handle plants/materials carefully and without damaging them.---Students may not enter hazardous or endangered areas on Sandy Hook.---Students may not have face-to-face contact with mentors without gaining permission from an instructor, and must inform mentors of telephone contact with mentors.---The group's portion of the project must be complete by May of 2012.---The plants will only be available during their specific blooming schedules..

Testing Procedures: In order to test the success of the Sandy Hook Herbarium, a visitor who is unfamiliar with the design/creation of the herbarium will be presented with a certain task.  The task will be to locate a specific plant that is mounted, and then to fill out a questionairre regarding any information about the certain specimen.  The questionairre will consist of questions relevant to the plant in a scientific manner (Latin name, blooming period, etc.), as well as in an interest approach (potions that the plant was used in).  Finally, the visitor would have to answer a series of questions about the overall level of enjoyment and knowledge gained by visiting the Sandy Hook Herbarium.  If the visitor can correctly identify the plant specified, answer questions about it based on the information presented in the display, and have fun during the visit, then the herbarium project will have been a success.Sample Questionairre: 1. What is the Latin name of Seaside Goldenrod? (Solidago sempervirens)2. How do goldenrod spread? (Wind spreads it seeds or underground rhizomes are spread from one plant, creating a clone of that plant in another place.)3. When does this plant flower? (August-November)4. The goldenrod is the state flower of what two states? (Kentucky and South Carolina)5. Thomas Edison experimented with this plant to create what synthetic material? (Rubber)6. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your experience in the Sandy Hook Interactive Herbarium?

Rationale of Chosen Solution:    If the herbarium is constructed as described in our final solution, the end product of our efforts toward this project will be a fully functioning and user-friendly herbarium in the Sandy Hook visitor center.  Because we are under serious time constraints, the herbarium may not be completed this year, but our final solution allows for future Systems Engineering II students to finish the project begun this year.  We will collect as many plant specimens this year as the blooming seasons permit, then pressing and preserving them for future students to use, as we will not have a fully constructed herbarium in which the plants will stay by the end of this year.  Once the herbarium is actually built in accordance with the specifications and limitations of this year and next year's Systems Engineering students, the new students may place the plants we gather this year, in addition to all specimens they collect during their part of the project.  Because we are limited by funding, we are not choosing to use the mocrowaveable plant pressing kits, but choosing instead to use the traditional plant press, which works out to be cheaper when used consitently throughout the pressing portion of the project.  When considering our various limitations, it is clear that our chosen solution is the best possible option.

Plants that could be pressed