COLCHESTER, Vt. — Generation Z, it’s your turn to speak up for agriculture.

American Agri-Women (AAW) and Crop Science, a division of Bayer, announce the “Gen Z Speaks Ag” advocacy contest as part of AAW’s “AgDay365: Ag Day is Every Day Campaign.”

AgDay365 celebrates the fact that everyone is part of agriculture, every day, and the contest encourages young advocates to make their voices count.

Those between ages 15-23 can enter the contest. The entrants can have an agriculture background or have an interest in related topics, such as food safety, food preparation, sustainability and the like.

The contest, sponsored by AAW and Bayer, builds on an advocacy event AAW hosted in Washington, D.C., on National Ag Day for students from FFA, 4-H and Agriculture Future of America. The contest runs through Oct. 10, and includes four contest options: photo, video, special event or pollinator education.

Prizes range from $100-$500. The winners will be announced at AAW’s 2017 convention, which is set for Nov. 16-18 in Bloomington, Minn., and hosted by Minnesota Agri-Women, an AAW affiliate. To learn more, visit https://americanagriwomen.org/gen-z-speaks-ag

CHICAGO, Ill. — CME Group Foundation announced it will provide strategic support and grants of $2.6 million to 14 organizations in Illinois to support STEM education initiatives from pre-kindergarten through college.

Of the grantees, eight are focused on early math education; four are advancing computer science learning; and two grantees are using technology to personalize learning for students.

Projects receiving funding and strategic support range from professional development programming for teachers of young children in underprivileged Illinois communities to LEAP Innovations, a Chicago-based education innovation hub that connects educators and technology innovators to research, pilot and scale personalized learning strategies to transform the way kids learn.

As part of its grants, CME Group Foundation renewed its longstanding support of LEAP Innovations, one of the key organizations in Chicago that is fostering change in the classroom.

 

 

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Google representatives and Gov. Bruce Rauner met August 11 at the Illinois State Fair to announce the company’s donation of $1.5 million in funding support and virtual reality equipment to support 4-H youth science programs across the United States, including Illinois.

Youth in Illinois’ 4-H programs will use the donated virtual reality kits and Google Chromebooks for 3-D learning experiences set in locations all over the world.

Illinois 4-H will use the funding from Google to purchase drones and cameras to create additional virtual reality experiences for the program, including a new farm expedition.

Together with National 4-H Council President Jennifer Sirangelo, Illinois 4-H STEM extension specialist Keith Jacobs participated in the announcement and will manage the program rollout. He said, “We are honored that Google has chosen 4-H to be its major partner for computer science education. Nationally, 4-H is the largest out-of-school programming organization, so this is what we do.

“The VR will allow the kids to take expeditions to different places around the globe. Imagine being able to travel through the Great Barrier Reef, and having your teacher point out specific details. You can look up, down, left, right and the teachers can point out what they need to.”

STEM education – science, technology, engineering and math – is a fast-growing program area for Illinois 4-H, with youth completing more than 7,500 robotics projects in 2016.