Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean the learning has stopped. Not only have we been busy teaching all about agriculture, but we’ve been busy learning too! Between school programs, conferences, teacher programs, and summer workshops we’ve had the chance to meet a lot of people across Iowa and even the United States!
The Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation (IALF) participates in a variety of events throughout the year from field days to ag safety days and everything in-between. This spring and summer are no different and we have been busy teaching students about all types of agriculture.
Linn County Ag in the Park
We kicked off our spring programs at Linn County Ag in the Park. Students created seed germination necklaces with water beads and corn and soybean seed inside of them. The water from the water beads and heat from your body as you wear the necklace allow the seeds to germinate. The clear bag allows students to watch the difference between corn and soybeans as they germinate. This was my first event with IALF. It was a long and fast paced day, but it was a lot of fun. We were able to see more than 600 students and teach them about seed germination.
Clay County Stem Bash
The Clay County Stem Bash is an event held by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and 4-H Youth Development at the Clay County Fairgrounds. The STEM Bash hosted more than 200 4th graders and a variety of booths where students learned about what energy is, where energy comes from and how to conserve energy. The day was focused on providing hands-on activities that aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards for 4th grade. During IALF’s activity at the Clay County Stem Bash students learned about energy systems and how energy moves through food webs. They modeled transfer of energy by passing a beachball around in a circle and by bouncing the ball to each other. Using their newfound knowledge, students participated in a relay race where they were challenged to put an energy system in order as a part of the activity Sun, to Moo, to You. My favorite part of this event was having conversations with students about how energy systems aren’t always a straight line, but a web where energy is transferred back and forth between objects.
Nevada Public Library Teen Club
In Nevada, we visited their teen club after school program at the public library and did an activity about grapes and jelly. Students were challenged to taste four different grape juices, choose their favorites, and engineer a grape jelly. The portion of the activity where students created a recipe for their jelly challenged them to discuss their opinions in a group setting and add fractions to create one cup of juice in total. This was my first time going to an event with upper middle and high school students. This was a great experience for me to have as I am hoping to become a high school agriculture teacher after graduation.
Iowa Children’s Water Festival
The Iowa Children’s Water Festival is an event that more than 2,000 5th grade students participate in annually. The students play games, visit exhibits, participate in hands-on activities, and more to learn about the importance of water in their daily lives. This was the first event that our newest team member, Alex, was able to attend. We also partnered with Gretchen Volga from Central Iowa Agriculture in the Classroom. During the festival, students learned about water, how it is used in agriculture, and why it is so important to conserve water through Journey 2050 programming. Students also created their own cover crop monsters to demonstrate one way to conserve water. Although it wasn’t a planned part of the lesson, it was fun to be able to watch the students decorate their monsters and give them all their own unique personality!
Grant Ragan Elementary School Field Day
Our most recent student program this spring was the Grant Ragan Elementary School Field Day. For this program, IALF partnered with Dallas County AITC coordinator, Jamie Champion. Students learned about different cattle breeds and how genetics influence both looks and behavior. After learning about genetics, the students were challenged to correctly group themselves into breeds based on pictures of bulls, cows, and calves. This was a new activity we tried at this event. With it being an outdoor field day, we had the opportunity to set up a mock pasture where students pretended to be a herd of cattle by mooing, exploring, and some even wandered by the fence line to see if they could escape. When I asked them why they were trying to escape they told me it’s because their grandparents’ cows always try and find ways to get out and they were acting like the cows they’ve seen.
In addition to educating students on agriculture through hands-on activities and interactive lessons, we also provide those resources to educators across the state. Some of the ways we interact with educators is through conferences and teacher programs.
University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Science Education Update Conference
Attending the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Science Education Update Conference allowed us to share our various resources with current science educators and future educators who are currently in teacher programs. We hosted a session about the science and STEM of Iowa’s grape industry where educators learned about what makes Iowa’s grapes special using the lessons Grapes Here and There. It was great to be able to connect with other future educators and possibly future colleagues.
Waukee Plant the Seed Day
At the Waukee Plant the Seed Day teacher event, we shared our resources with educators in the Waukee Community School District. We connected with teachers from all grade levels and shared how our resources connect to Iowa Core Standards. This was also a great opportunity for me to be able to talk to Cindy Snell, the 2023 Iowa Excellence in Teaching About Agriculture Award. As an aspiring future agriculture educator, I was able to talk to her about her experiences in the classroom.
Nebraska Agriculture in the Classroom: Making the Connection Agriculture Literacy Conference
IALF was invited to attend this conference where farmers, educators, and professionals came together to exchange tools about how to help students and consumers understand how agriculture impacts their daily lives. At the conference, Cathryn hosted a breakout session about agriculture safety days. Although only two percent of the nation is currently involved in production agriculture, many people may encounter agriculture more than they think. Whether it’s visiting a fair and seeing animals or sharing a road with farm equipment, it is vital that people know how to act safely. The session took a closer look at our How-To Guide for Ag Safety Days and gave participants the resources to plan a successful agriculture safety day.
Iowa Reading Association and Association of Iowa School Librarians Literacy Conference
This summer, we attended the Iowa Reading Association and Association of Iowa School Librarians Literacy Conference and had the opportunity to connect with teachers, librarians, university professors, district coordinators, Area Education Agency (AEA) curriculum consultants, and other exhibitors from throughout Iowa. IALF attended to share our resources as an exhibitor as well as lead a session about our Iowa Ag Today student readers. The activity introduced educators to our Iowa Ag Today readers as they engaged in an activity that accompanied them.
New Agriculture in the Classroom Coordinator Workshop
Our conferences and teacher programs aren’t for just educators who are in the classroom daily. This spring we had our first New Agriculture in the Classroom Coordinator Workshop. Agriculture in the Classroom is a program that allows educators to visit classrooms with fun and engaging activities to educate students about agriculture. The classroom visits range from teaching about agriculture safety to hands-on activities like hatching chicks and everything in-between. This workshop was for new coordinators across the state to provide them with the resources they need to run successful programs and create strong connections between students and agriculture. During this workshop, Ag in the Classroom Coordinators set program goals, practiced data collection, engaged in agriculture activities, and networked with other coordinators from across the state. Each Agriculture in the Classroom Program is tailored to fit that area’s needs, and this workshop provided the new coordinators with a variety of resources to build the best possible program for their area.
National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference
We have also been busy learning this summer! Some of our team members traveled to Orlando, Fla., for the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference. In total there were 14 attendees from Iowa including Agriculture in the Classroom Educators, teachers, Iowa State University Extension representatives and IALF staff members. At this conference they experienced Florida’s agriculture, explored new resources and activities, and networked with agriculture educators from across the country. Cindy Snell, the recipient of the Iowa Excellence in Teaching About Agriculture Award was also recognized at an awards luncheon at the conference.
It’s been a busy summer but were not done yet. On Friday, August 11 at 10 a.m. we will host an activity at the Blue-Ribbon Kids Club Fun Forest Stage. There will be an interactive obstacle course reading of our book, Hiccup the Wonder Pig. Not only will the student author of the book be there, but the Iowa Pork Queen will also be there signing copies and representing Iowa’s pork industry.
Overall, this spring and summer have been incredibly busy but also rewarding. I’ve had the chance to network with educators across the state, share our resources, educate students about agriculture, and visit parts of Iowa I had never seen before.
~Alyson
