From Classroom to Real-World: Exploring HKIS’ Hydroponic Farm

Written By Seri Egashira ‘25, HKIS Student

HKIS has always been a school that values real-world experience. As a Primary student at HKIS, I’d always look forward to the days where I knew my class would do something hands-on, like conduct an experiment, grow a plant, and step outside of the classroom to make connections between our learning and the outside world. Now a High School Senior, I must admit I envy the Upper Primary students at HKIS, who can experience this daily, all at The Farm.

The Farm, a space for hydroponics at HKIS’s Upper Primary campus, serves as an environment where students experience hands-on learning outside of a traditional classroom setting. At The Farm, students help cultivate tomatoes and strawberries, learn how to maintain a hydroponic farm, and explore topics like sustainability, food ecosystems, and health and wellbeing.

The hydroponics farm highlights HKIS’s approach to learning, promoting skills such as – inquiry, collaboration, and creativity.

Students use The Farm as a space to explore their curiosity, ask questions about plant growth, nutrient cycles, and the environmental impact of different farming methods, forming hypotheses about factors that might affect plant growth. Students then collaborate with each other to conduct experiments, collecting information on plant growth, which they analyze to draw conclusions and refine their hypotheses.

The Farm also connects to other student learning opportunities in the Upper Primary. Students can use produce from The Farm in the Kid Kitchen, an on-campus culinary space, to deepen their appreciation of food sources and the world of sustainability.

Earlier this year, two fifth grade students, Eve and Cheryl, created a way to use the produce grown in The Farm to make “Fruity Water” – water infused with ingredients such as lemon, watermelon, orange, and basil – to share with fellow students during lunch time. These experiences are what truly make The Farm a special place on campus.

Perhaps most importantly, The Farm serves as an invaluable experiential learning opportunity for students to explore a non-conventional area of study, possibly opening a field of interest for them, and find a passion to pursue in their future.

For more information, visit hkis.edu.hk/admissions