An invention used by the Michigan 4-H Children's Garden is making learning more exciting with the new Personal Science Assistant, or PSA, a device used to study plants and flowers.

Similar to a handheld device, the PSA reads plant labels through a radio frequency and shows pictures and information about each plant.

When using the device, kids can easily see what a certain plant looks like now, but also what it will look like in the summer, fall and winter.

Also by the click of a button, the PSA can show how each plant will function in nature.

Aparna Ramchandran, the MSU graduate student who invented the machine, said she wanted to create something different for her master's thesis.

"My adviser came up with an idea about the PSA," she said. "I thought it was a cool idea and wanted to do something innovative as well as educational."

Ramchandran started on the project about a year ago and said the device will have more developments in the future.

"There is a lot of content that needs to be developed, and over time we will be adding more and more features," she said.

Norm Lownds, curator of the children's gardens, said kids are beginning to pay more attention to the plants.

"With this device, the kids can look at the PSA and then look at the plant and see if they can identify parts on the plants and pictures," he said.

The device is mainly used by fourth graders and up, Lownds said.

The PSA is also being used in his Principles of Horticulture class.

"This class focuses on developing contents and taking actual pictures that will go into the PSA in the future," Lownds said.

Alison Peot, fourth-grade teacher at Central Elementary School in Okemos, said the PSA gives the children hands-on information visually.

"I think it takes them to another level, and they are eager to come out here," she said.

The students take three field trips a year to the gardens during their plant unit.

"Right now we're doing a plant unit, and this is our second or third year doing this," Peot said.

Fourth-grader Paige McKeon said learning through the handheld machines are fun.

"A book would have given you a bit more information, but this was more fun," the 10-year-old said. "It's like a mini computer."

MSU works with the Okemos school district, as well as other nearby schools, by giving them access to plant and science experts.

"Between the teachers in Okemos and Dr. Norm, we've connected this with our curriculum," McKeon said.

Ramchandran said the cost of making the PSAs wasn't that expensive.

"The budget was mainly for the equipment," she said. "It was about $500 or $600 for each PDA, but now it's probably a lot cheaper."

The tags that the PSAs read for information were about one dollar, she said.

"Over time, as we start to create more developments and better applications, it will get cheaper and cheaper," Ramchandran said.

The device is currently only available at the 4-H Children's Gardens, but Lownds said it wouldn't surprise him if they started to see it in museums.

Staff writer Lindsey Poisson contributed to this report.