Living Lab Features
Below are some of the special features of this living lab that offer unique teaching, learning, and research opportunities.
For Instructors:
This living lab provides a valuable resource for instructors at the University of Iowa and beyond to enhance their educational objectives. Our team has identified specific connections to a diverse array of academic disciplines. Instructors are encouraged to bring their students to the site to engage with these curricular linkages firsthand, fostering experiential learning. Additionally, students are invited to utilize the space for research and exploration, allowing them to deepen their understanding of the interplay between nature and their field of study.
Curricular Connections
Health Sciences & Medicine
Explore the historical and modern medicinal uses of plants in the garden. Compare historical remedies with current pharmaceutical applications and discuss how plant-based compounds have influenced modern medicine.
Research the process of drug discovery and development, using medicinal plants as case studies.
Examine the role of traditional medicine in different cultures and discuss the integration of herbal remedies into modern healthcare practices.
Analyze the ethical considerations of using plant and animal species for medicinal drugs and other materials. Discuss the conservation of medicinal plants in an era of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Communications & Media
Evaluate the role of media in shaping public perceptions of herbal medicine. Compare coverage of alternative medicine in mainstream media, scientific literature, and social media platforms.
Develop a science communication project that translates pharmacological research into accessible language for the general public, using the medicinal garden as a case study.
Analyze the impact of pharmaceutical marketing on public trust in both traditional and modern medicine.
Create a multimedia campaign (video, blog, podcast, or social media content) that educates the public on medicinal plants, their historical significance, and their current uses in medicine.
History
Investigate the historical use of medicinal plants across different cultures and time periods. Compare remedies from ancient civilizations (Greek, Chinese, Indigenous, Egyptian) with modern medicine.
Analyze historical texts and compare their descriptions of plant-based treatments with modern scientific understanding.
Examine the role of medicinal plants during significant historical events (war, pandemics, etc.)
Research the contributions of historical figures in herbal medicine and pharmacology.
Geography
Explore how the geographic distribution of medicinal plants has influenced global trade, culture, and medicine.
Investigate how climate and soil conditions affect the growth and potency of medicinal plants.
Examine the effects of deforestation, habitat loss, and climate change on the availability and conservation of medicinal plant species.
Map the global origins of the medicinal plants found in the garden and analyze the factors influencing their spread.
Engineering
Design an irrigation or vertical gardening system to optimize plant growth in an urban environment like the medicinal garden.
Study how plants in the garden have evolved unique adaptations for survival and apply these concepts to product design (biomimicry).
Analyze the structural and material aspects of the “Synthesis” sculpture and discuss how engineering and art intersect to communicate scientific themes.
Creative Writing
Use the medicinal garden and the poem “Remember” by Joy Harjo as inspiration to write poetry, short stories, or personal essays about the relationship between nature and healing.
Create a fictional narrative that follows a healer from a different historical period using plants from the garden to treat illnesses.
Write a reflection about the symbolism of the “Synthesis” sculpture and how it represents the connection between nature, medicine, and science.
Develop a science-fiction or dystopian story that imagines a world where medicinal plants play a critical role in human survival.
Assignment Development
Discussion Questions
What ethical questions arise when using natural resources for medicine today? How should we balance innovation, tradition, and conservation?
What can the Roots of Medicine site teach us about the importance of preserving traditional knowledge in an age of rapid scientific advancement?
Interpretive Prompts
Choose a plant from the medicinal garden and scan its QR code. Reflect on both its medicinal uses and ecological significance. What surprised you?
Sit near the “Synthesis” sculpture or one of the poem excerpts and journal about what the art and poetry express about healing, time, and scientific progress.
Analysis Prompts
Research a medicinal plant from the garden and analyze how its use has changed over time. How is it currently used in healthcare, and what does current research suggest about its effectiveness?
Compare the public perception of herbal medicine in scientific journals, news outlets, and social media. What patterns or misconceptions can you identify?
Testimonials
"The College of Pharmacy Medicinal Garden and Roots of Medicine is open to all to visit any time. From April to October the garden is always changing. Visit once a month and see how the garden changes over the spring, summer, fall, and even winter seasons."
"I teach a course on the history of Greek and Roman medicine each fall. It's important to me that my students make concrete connections between ancient medical practice and their own contemporary experiences. A visit to the Roots of Medicine garden provides experiential context about the history of pharmacy and the continuing importance of botany to medical practice."
"The Roots of Medicine garden is a fantastic example of cross-discipline collaboration, which provides a beautiful entrance into the College of Pharmacy. Through the interactive plant tags, visitors connect the living plants in front of them with historical texts from the John R Martin Rare Book Room and the most recent scholarly articles from Hardin Library. Engaging with the garden leads to an enlightening understanding of how common herbs and flowers have been used in medicine for centuries, but can still yield startling discoveries."
Roots of Medicine Stakeholders
Click below to search a directory of caretakers, researchers, stakeholders, and people involved with Roots of Medicine.
Did you Know?
One plant in the Roots of Medicine Garden is Wild Bergamot. It has historically been used by Native Americans for a wide range of purposes from perfume to treating infections. Also known as Bee Balm, Wild Bergamot can be found at Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory as well!
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