Third Place Winner

Community Arboretum at Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke, Virginia

Category 1: 0-10,000 Visitors

Horticulture student interns at the college developed the AAS garden design, unifying the STEAM theme through the Fibonacci Sequence. The sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34) was visually represented by a spiral of zinnia cultivars. Each numerical block corresponded to a STEAM discipline, such as five blocks for the Science section, which depicted a plant cell. Engineering featured a hexagon-shaped bed representing a honeycomb, while the Art section was shaped like an artist’s palette. Technology displayed cucumbers on trellises, symbolizing biomimicry. Visitors were particularly impressed by the detailed interpretation of the Fibonacci Sequence, validating the student-led planning, preparation, and installation of the complex display.