STEM Farming, Animals, Robotics, Renewable Energy, Automation, Hands-on and Fun!
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![Partners Not Pets]()
Partners Not Pets
7/7 - 7/11, 2025 [14 spaces]
9:00 - 12:00 PM | July Full Day Option [15 spaces]This one week half day morning camp combines biotechnology and vet tech camps to better understand how humans and animals work together to make a farm work.
All animals are h5N1 tested, and rubber boots are recommended.
A Presentation of learning will take place on Friday at 11:00 at Mezzacello Urban Farm.
Parents are welcome to attend. It will be filmed and private video link will be provided.Full Day Farm Tech Bundle
(Partners Not Pets & Simple Machines)Presentation will be at 3:00 for this bundle option.
$150 Ages 9-15
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![Simple Machines and You]()
Simple Machines and You
7/7 - 7/11, 2025 [15 spaces]
1:00 - 4:00 PM | July Full Day Option [15 spaces]This one week half-day afternoon camp combines bioengineering and problem solving on a farm in a fun and engaging way. By learning what simple machines are and we build compound machines from them.
A Presentation of learning will take place on Friday at 3:00 at Mezzacello Urban Farm.
Parents are welcome to attend. It will be filmed and private video link will be provided.Full Day Farm Tech Bundle
(Partners Not Pets & Simple Machines)$150 Ages 9-15
Meet Jim Bruner, Futurist Farmer
and Alpha Animal
Jim brings over 25 years of experience in educational design, innovation, design thinking, and STEM engagement. A dedicated advocate for hands-on learning, he has served as president, executive director, and board member of the Ohio Invention League, as well as a judge trainer and mentor at regional, state, national, and international competitions in invention, science, and marketing.
For a decade, Jim worked with the PAST Foundation, where he began developing Mezzacello Urban Farm—an applied STEM learning environment focused on food, nutrition, wellness, and workforce readiness. Modeled after Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, Mezzacello is more than a farm—it is the realization of Jim’s lifelong dream to unite agriculture and education in the heart of the city.
Jim’s work is deeply personal. A severe medical condition led to the loss of his esophagus, making food a challenge and fresh food a necessity. With a modified digestive system, access to fresh, unprocessed food is not just important—it is essential. Living in a food desert in downtown Columbus, Ohio, Jim built gardens and systems that not only support his own health, but serve as a platform for educating others.
Food is the great unifier. And for Jim, it is the foundation for empowering students with the tools, skills, and mindset to recognize and act on innovation. Mezzacello is a space where urban youth can engage in agricultural and STEM-based learning right in their own neighborhoods—gaining real-world skills in design thinking, sustainability, and career readiness.
Our 1868 Farmhouse and Our 21st Century Farm Campus
In 2017, renovations began on an abandoned 1868 House and two adjacent weed-and-brush-infested plots into what would become Mezzacello Urban Farm. [Virtual Tour]
We created integrated ecologies to assemble all the sustainable and required resources necessary to create life, careers, and a future for all of us.
A STEM-powered machine for life that combines nature, STEM, Curiosity, and genius into a unique farming and STEM experience -- 12 blocks from the state capital building on East Broad Street.
What Do YOU Think of Mezzacello Urban Farm?
Leave Us a Google Review or a YELP Review!
Families, Teens, Community, Schools, and Adult Workshops, Internships, and Classes
High School Eco Heroes attending classes, workshops and internships with hands-on tech and workforce skills challenges.
Leadership Academy and MenTern Trainings
Middle School Menterns (Mentors + Interns) reviewing Design Challenges and Lessons at the end of a summer camp week and debriefing. Training was through the winter via zoom.
State-of-the-Art Facilities To Grow, Maintain, Sustain, and Explain
Gardens, Learning Labs, and Mobile Labs for Sustainable Food, Resources, Water, and Energy
Mezzacello Urban Farm is a unique blend of tradition and innovation. It operates as a functional urban farm with gardens, livestock, water collection systems, composting, and thriving farm ecologies. At the same time, it serves as a modern 21st-century STEM Learning Lab, powered entirely by solar and wind energy.
Fun and Engaging Educational Programming that Unites Applied STEM, Career Readiness, and Food Insecurity Issues
A real-world camp, workshop, and Applied STEM Playground.
Kids noticed a fish acting strangely, so they engineered an RC shark with a 4K video and waterproof router to capture data and ecology factors to diagnose the condition using video and telemtry with a vet student - in real time.
Support our growth
Mezzacello is a magical place. I have seen my child open up and do things that just a week ago would be impossible. And then to have them tell a crowd of strangers WITH a microphone why this is important. Stunning magic.
PARENT OF A STUDENT
GALLERY OF MEZZACELLO URBAN FARM
Ecosystem Map of Mezzacello Urban Farm
UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals
The Farm at Night
The Pond in Summer
Robotic Fish to Monitor Pond Health
Prepping for the Environmental and Climate Justice Academy
The Hornbeam Allee and it's Solar Array and Lights
Columbus School For Girls Discovering baby chicks!
Rick is allergic, but Alice Cooper is kind
Portable Ag Workshop station (PAWs)
The Foodist is back in action
Service Learning Day at Mezzacello Urban Farm
Proudly displaying footage from the Sharkbot
Wind and Traffic Generated Power and Solar
Columbus City Schools Learning About Renewable Energy
Columbus City School Kids Making a YouTube Video about Solar Power
Summer Camp Kids Reviewing Video for YouTube Presentation
Mezzacello "Menterns" training together to teach programming
Join us in our mission of building the future, and reflecting on the past.
Our Vision is to grow, maintain, sustain and explain the path forward for sustainability, workforce skills, health, and food security.
Jim Bruner, Futurist Farmer and Alpha Animal at Mezzacello Urban Farm