The amazing ECO system of kits has been designed by a biologist and experienced science educator to create and explore as many terrestrial climatic and biological phenomena as possible - in a kit on a table at home (or school). The ECO kit is like a  panoramic Terrarium. Functioning as the Earth and  ‘mother ship’ of the system, it looks like a snapshot from space of a terrace farming system from an ancient civilization. Themes adds to the effect. This is not merely a laboratory or greenhouse.  The ECO kit introduces children to the urgent discipline of planet management! The emotional impact of seeing one of these systems set up and ‘pumping’ is amazing. The bottom level of the system is the ‘sea’. It is a water reservoir that supplies water to the upper levels by evaporation, condensation and internal rainfall. Naturally nutrients and salts build up here as water trickles from the upland lakes down mini waterfalls, through soils and biological systems back to the sea. Next are wet lowlands. Special soil ingredients and aquifer overflow design keep this level damp for ‘wet footed’ plants. Then mountain terraces. Dryer soils  with lower water holding capacity, water runs into and out of this system quite quickly. Dry loving plants can grow here in the special soils provided. At the top is a narrow mountain lake fed entirely by condensation and internal rainfall. Pure water with no nutrients pumps water down the hillsides most quickly when water is actively condensing out of the atmosphere. This can be adjusted.

The atmosphere is a specially shaped and molded lid and the air it contains. The lid features open able and closable ports at the lower terrace and on the roof. The roof port features a special container that seals the port and can be used for air cooling and heating experiments.

With all ports open, and in sun or the light from a desk lamp – air will enter the system at the lower level and will soon drive up through the upper port as a thermal. A special turbine shows the updraft speed and direction. Close any ports and the airflow changes or stops.  Speed of airflow depends on heat build up in the system, which depends on the color of the plants, color of soil, etc. Cold water in the sea may even reverse airflow and cause strong downdrafts. Close all ports, the wind stops, air saturates and condensation starts on the sloping roof, dripping into the upland lake. When the air is warm, put ice into the roof container and rapid turbulence ensues with strong updrafts and even more powerful downdrafts with heavy rain.  Catch the rain in special measuring containers to monitor rate of water transfer from sea to atmosphere and back.

The kit also contains thermometers for comparing temperatures at different internal locations, materials to make a humidity meter, and indicator solutions for measuring Carbon Dioxide levels. Also included are beakers, indicator chemicals, vials and laboratory tools, etc.

The ECO kit is the main kit of ‘mothership’ of a series of connecting kits or ‘biomes’. The ECO kit can pump air through ports and tubes into the other biomes such as Ant Jungle, Ant Mine, Worm World and other biomes to be released. The ECO kit is the primary producer of Oxygen and Food in the system, and also is the main Carbon Dioxide sink. The Animal biomes are net producers of Carbon Dioxide and are users of food and oxygen, although ants and other small animals can also travel to and from the ECO through the ports.