Loess Hills Agriculture in the Classroom has been busy “mixing up some fun” at area county fairs this summer. Although each location was different, Education Program Coordinator, Melanie Bruck, says they identified the goal of explaining how farmers use STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) in their daily operations. To do this, they used pig feed rations and participants counted and weighed snack items like blue M&Ms to represent water, toasted Os cereal and corn nuts for carbohydrates, soy nuts for protein, white chocolate chips for fat and candies and raisins for vitamins and minerals. They then learned how to mix these nutrients for proper feed rations for pigs. “There is so much to see and do at the fair,” Bruck says. “Capturing the children’s attention with candy and trail mix was just the beginning of the agriculture lesson.” While students built their trail mix, Bruck described the importance of the ingredients in the animal’s diet as well as the helpers who make the farmer’s job possible. “Kids need to know this stuff,” says the father of one of the participants. It is important they know their food does not just come from the grocery store.” Bruck worked to educate children at fairs in Carroll, Crawford, Harrison, Shelby and West Pottawattamie Counties.
