FARM Science Lab visits Riverside School

The FARM Science Lab visited Riverside Intermediate School last Monday and Tuesday to provide onsite experimentation about agricultural products and how they affect our lives every day

by Marsha Chartrand

Last Monday and Tuesday, students at Riverside Intermediate School learned more about how their food is raised as each classroom in turn visited the Michigan Farm Bureau Food, Agriculture & Resources in Motion (FARM) Science Lab.

Equipped with the latest teaching technologies and STEM-based lessons to increase agricultural awareness, this amazing mobile classroom brings hands-on, field trip–type learning directly to schools across the state.

The lab is facilitated by regional educators who’ve been trained on the current Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and who aim to expand participants’ horizons regarding science and agriculture. During a visit Monday morning, fifth-graders in Ms. Teri Punches’ class learned about careers in agriculture and science through experiential lessons about corn products. They experimented with styrofoam- vs. corn-based packing peanuts, starting with their own hypotheses and coming up with conclusions that may or may not have matched their predictions. They also made plastic, using carefully measured amounts of corn starch, water, and oil.

Corn, popcorn, corn syrup, corn muffin mix (made right over in Chelsea, Michigan!), corn-based plastic and foam peanuts, corn starch, and many other products were demonstrated, and even created, in the FARM lab by the fifth-graders, helping them understand how agriculture impacts their daily lives so they grow into informed consumers.

According to the Washtenaw County Farm Bureau, other classes enjoyed different specialized lessons in the well-equipped lab. Mrs. Hanewald’s fourth-grade class did card sorting from a soybean plant to a finished product (crayons, animal feed, tofu, and vegetable oil), did a crayon comparison, and made lip balm.

The Farm Bureau’s Promotion & Education Committee also purchased “Under Your Feet” for fourth grade and “Thomas Jefferson Plants a Nation“ for fifth. They also gave the third- and fourth-grade classes “Henry Ford Builds a Car,” as well as the corresponding educator’s guide. The teachers appreciated the lab visit as well as the books.

Although agriculture affects all our lives every day, many people don’t understand how healthy, nutritious food arrives on their tables, how fiber is produced to clothe them, or how agriculture products provide shelter. Michigan’s food and farm sector produces more than 300 commodities and generates more than $100 billion in economic activity annually. Not only is agriculture important to students personally, it is vital to our state and national economy.

The FARM Science Lab has visited more than 400 Michigan schools since fall of 2017, impacting more than 45,000 students and 1,800 educators.

The regional educators who travel with the FARM Science Lab aim to expand the horizons of students regarding science and agriculture. The FARM Science Lab was made possible by the Michigan Foundation for Agriculture, and was brought to life by the generous donations of Farm Bureau members, 26 county Farm Bureaus, agricultural commodity organizations, and other corporate sponsors.

One famous Michigan product containing corn products included Faygo soda.

Experimenting with corn-based and styrofoam packing peanuts. How are they the same? How are they different? Will they sink, or float?

The fifth-grade class listened attentively to the instructor who shared scientific method as well as the importance of agricultural products.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.