GPS -
For my DWC, I just bought a five gallon tote from one of the big hardware stores and added an aerator. I drilled eight sites for 2" net pots/plants and use it to display plants for sale.
For the
aeroponics system, I built the manifold and use an 18 gallon tote also from one of the big hardware stores; it has twelve sites and use it to display plants for sale.
The static, wick system is in a 2.5 gallon bucket that I painted black to make it light tight. Generally I put a pepper (bush) or tomato (dwarf) plant in there that I use to offer fresh samples to potential customers: many get a kick out of a mini pick-your-own display.
For me, the keys for creating an effective display are:
(1) Space is at a premium, so systems should be both small and functional; by functional I mean they shouldn't be idly sitting around as eye candy, rather operating to keep plants fresh and attractive.
(2) Diversity is key in system selection: display a variety of systems that will allow you to talk about different points (e.g. this DWC uses air
pump, this
aeroponic manifold uses water pump, this wick system is so easy a child could do it, etc).
(3) Power can be temperamental when several people are all plugged into a limited number of sources; thus, only bring fail-safe systems (or make backup plans) if you are using a shared source.