Can an old barge sitting in Biscayne Bay help the city of Miami come face to face with the challenge of climate change?

That’s the intent of the Miami Science Barge, a creation of CappSci and one of 32 winners of the Knight Cities Challenge in its first year.

Alissa Farina is an innovation associate at CappSci, a foundation that applies “science and engineering to real-world problems, and one of the organizers of the Miami Science Barge. Here are five things you should know about the project:

1.     The Miami Science Barge will be a floating urban ecological laboratory and public environmental education center on Biscayne Bay at Museum Park in downtown Miami.

2.     It is intended to catalyze local efforts to build a sustainable Miami by featuring living systems, such as aquaponics and hydroponics and marine experiments, along with showcasing its renewable energy power grid. 

3.     A special sea-level platform will allow visitors to sample water quality, salinity, microorganisms and contaminants. Small, remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) with cameras will stream video of marine life around the barge.

4.     Finding a barge turned out to be easier than expected. Organizers found it online close to home in the Miami River.

5.     CappSci expects the barge to open in the first quarter of 2016. I’m looking forward to this new addition to the Miami waterfront.

Listen to my conversation with Alissa here. And sign up for the “Knight Cities” newsletter to get alerts as soon as new conversations are posted.

Look for new “Knight Cities” content posted every week. You can follow us on Twitter at #knightcities or @knightfdn. And if you have ideas for people you’d like to hear from, please email me.

Carol Coletta is vice president of community and national initiatives at Knight Foundation. Follow her on Twitter @ccoletta.