Pioneer Region - Summit County Farm Bureau
The Summit County Farm Bureau is bringing agriculture to the classroom with the Summit County Farm Bureau Mobile Learning Laboratory Project. The "Ag-mobile" is an innovative traveling classroom that promotes agriculture and hands-on learning. The new learning lab will reinforce the goals of the Ag in the Classroom project. The goals of the program are to provide students with hands-on investigations to demonstrate the importance of agriculture and its products in our daily lives; to provide an agricultural curriculum and appropriate materials which helps educators prepare students for skills required for state testing; and increase awareness of the economic role of agriculture. In May, the mobile laboratory, along with educator Connie Schanz, did a trial program visiting three schools for two days each, in Summit County. Visits included Arrowhead Primary in Copley, St. Francis DeSales School in Manchester and Turkeyfoot Elementary in Coventry. The Ag-mobile has 10 learning stations for hands-on student investigations about agriculture’s food and fiber products. These may include activities like candling and grading eggs, turning milk into glue or ice cream or testing soil samples. The learning labs help build student skills in the areas of science, math, economics and language arts. The program includes a full-time educator who coordinates activities with schools, prepares teachers for the visits and travels with the lab. Farm Bureau volunteers also help with the lab. "This is such an important learning tool for our young people in Summit County," said Joanne Menning, OFBF organization director for Columbiana, Portage, Stark and Summit counties. "As the new learning lab moves from school to school, we’re greatly expanding the number of students and educators who benefit from the Ag in the Classroom program." Currently Summit County FB is scheduling Summit County elementary classes for school visits this fall. If school officials are interested in scheduling, they may call 800-654-5158 or visit the Web site at www.aglab.com. | |