By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN

Michigan Correspondent

 

LANSING, Mich. — A FARM Science Lab (Food, Agriculture & Resources in Motion) is bringing hands-on science lessons to elementary schools throughout Michigan.

 

The FARM Science Lab is a 40-foot mobile classroom, equipped with the latest teaching technologies and tooled with STEM-based lessons that meet Next Generation Science Standards and National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes to increase agricultural awareness. The lab was developed by Michigan Agriculture in the Classroom.

Staffed with a certified teacher, the mobile lab helps reinforce grade-level standards with hands-on science experiments while increasing students’ knowledge of how agriculture impacts their daily lives.

Deb Schmucker, director of Michigan’s Farm Bureau’s (MFB) Center for Education and Leadership Development – and who leads the Michigan Foundation for Agriculture, which managed a $700,000 campaign to fund the lab – said the idea was first discussed after members of MFB’s State Promotion & Education Committee saw similar labs used in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Maryland.

She said two years ago, a lab from Kentucky was displayed during the MFB’s State Annual Meeting, which set the project in motion. “Oakland and Kent County Farm Bureaus seeded the money for us to get started and once we raised enough for the build, we moved forward,” Schmucker said. “The Foundation is raising the operating dollars each year to continue.”

Consumers Energy Foundation was one of the supporters, contributing $50,000 toward the lab.

“Consumers Energy has a long history of both supporting agriculture in Michigan and promoting science education, so we are pleased to help the FARM Science Lab connect with thousands of students,” said David Mengebier, president.

“Through support of the FARM Science Lab, we can help non-traditional (nonfarm) students better understand where their food comes from and spark interest in agriculture.”

Schmucker said the lab kicked off its “pilot phase” in February and will wrap it up next week. “At the end of the pilot program, we will have reached over 7,500 students and 300 teachers in eight different school districts in Oakland and Kent counties.”

The lab is staffed by certified teacher Lyndsay Grasman. “Our goal with the FARM Science Lab is to offer schools the convenience of bringing a field trip-style experience to their front door,” she explained.

“Students get an engaging, hands-on, out-of-the-classroom experience without the hassle of transportation arrangements or field trip permission slips.”

Lessons challenge students to follow the scientific method: ask a question, make a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, collect data, analyze the information and report results. Schmucker said the lab supports core values set forth by MFB and the Michigan Foundation for Agriculture.

“It brings agriculture to students and helps further their understanding of how agriculture contributes to their lives and to Michigan,” she said. “The great connection it also makes is it serves to fill a real absence of science education, particularly in elementary schools – agriculture is a great hands-on experiment for science.”

Twenty-five schools in Kent and Oakland counties were visited during the pilot phase, and 14 more visits are planned in Clinton, Grand Traverse, Isabella, Kent, Macomb, Sanilac and Wayne counties. Schmucker said the success of the project has “helped the Foundation establish its identity and helped people understand its mission: agricultural education and leadership development.”

In addition to raising funds for projects such as the mobile lab, the Michigan Foundation for Agriculture secures sponsorships for Young Farmer programs and Promotion & Education activities, including the MFB Annual Meeting, the Voice of Agriculture Conference, the Young Farmer Leaders Conference and the Growing Together Conference.

For more information about the FARM Science Lab or to schedule a visit for public, private or charter K-5 schools or other STUDENTS ENJOY LEARNING about science through hands-on experiments with events, visit www.farmsciencelab.org