Pandemic protocols might have changed how children are taught about agriculture. However, Michigan Ag in the Classroom offers another way for teachers to provide hands-on learning experiences.
Amelia Miller, education and communication specialist, says the FARM Crate program has been a great success.
“Even though most schools are back in person learning, these farm crates are a great way to incorporate agriculture into their classrooms and have an easy, scripted lesson that meets their curriculum content standards for each grade level,” she says.
The crates are geared toward students in kindergarten through 5th grade. The deadline to order crates for the spring semester is January 18.
“We have two new offerings this school year,” says Miller. “We’ll have an energy crate—corn is the commodity focused there—and we’ll have an insect crate that showcases soybeans. They focus on the science of both of those [crops]. Then we have seasons that showcases a dairy farm, fruits and vegetables that go to a Michigan greenhouse, we have eggs, and the science and technology crate that showcases the Michigan blueberry farm where they invented a blueberry harvester.”
The Michigan Foundation for Agriculture supports the FARM Crate program. Miller says that with their partnership, they’ve been able to bring in sponsors to offset the cost of the boxes and display their commodities.
“We love showcasing our Michigan farmers to students in the classroom—not only to show them what we grow here in Michigan and how it connects to the foods they eat and products they use every day, but also to show them the career opportunities available in agriculture.”
For information on how to purchase the crates, click here.
