By WILL PERKINS
Glasgow News 1
In celebration of Agriculture Education Week, students at Highland Elementary stepped aboard a traveling classroom that was parked behind the school Monday through Wednesday. They conducted various hands-on experiments while creating products such as soybean lip balm and soybean living seed necklaces.
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Mobile Science Activity Center is one of three units that travels around the state to provide students with learning opportunities.
Payton Boards, a fourth-grader at Highland Elementary, stirs a substance called gluep as part of an experiment Wednesday morning on the Mobile Science Activity Center that was parked behind the school. Will Perkins/Glasgow News 1
“The science experiments are related in some way to agriculture,” said Charlene Martin, who travels around western Kentucky in the mobile classroom. Martin said the activities align with Kentucky Academic Standards in science and she thinks the students get a “whole new appreciation” for agriculture through these experiences.
“I still feel like most students know that their food comes from the farm,” she said. “But you’d be surprised. Even in the counties, we’ve got a lot of students who still think chocolate milk comes from a brown cow.
“We’re getting more and more detached from the farm. More generations away.”
Ag Education Week is an initiative created by Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher. The purpose is to introduce students “to the wide variety of careers and pathways agriculture has to offer,” according to a press release from the department of agriculture.
“We all know agriculture means farmers,” Shell stated in the press release. “But it’s so much more. This week is about teaching kids where their food comes from. It’s about showing them the opportunities agriculture offers and inspiring them to be a part of its future.”
Kora Harper, a fourth-grader at Highland Elementary, stirs a substance called gluep as part of an experiment Wednesday morning on the Mobile Science Activity Center that was parked behind the school. Will Perkins/Glasgow News 1
Shell said creating interest in agriculture “prepares the next generation of farmers, scientists, business leaders and innovators who will keep Kentucky agriculture strong.”
“Investing in education today ensures a thriving sustainable industry for tomorrow,” Shell said.
Fletcher stated in the press release that this week is “a great opportunity for Kentucky’s students to experience vibrant, meaningful lessons about how agriculture impacts all of us.”
“At the Kentucky Department of Education, we have been excited to work with other state leaders to offer our students this chance to explore such a vital part of life in the Commonwealth,” Fletcher said. “I look forward to seeing this week grow and see what kind of impact it can have on Kentucky’s next generation of farmers.”
Charlene Martin instructs Highland Elementary fourth-graders as they conduct an experiment Wednesday morning on the Mobile Science Activity Center that was parked behind the school. Will Perkins/Glasgow News 1
Dalton Clark, a fourth-grader at Highland Elementary, stirs a substance called gluep as part of an experiment Wednesday morning on the Mobile Science Activity Center that was parked behind the school. Will Perkins/Glasgow News 1
Highland Elementary fourth-graders conduct an experiment using agriculture products Wednesday morning on the Mobile Science Activity Center that was parked behind the school. Will Perkins/Glasgow News 1
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