The Delaware Farm Bureau Foundation has reached its 10,000th child in experiences with its Ag Education Mobile Classroom, or “Ag Lab.”
The milestone has included visits to summer camps and schools since its debut in 2014, but does not include thousands more young people who stopped by during events such as the Delaware State Fair or the annual Healthy Kids Day at Trap Pond.
DFB Foundation Manager Laura Simpson stated, “The Ag Lab is a traveling classroom that serves to educate young people about farming and agriculture. It is a fun, educational tool that allows kids to see the different aspects of agriculture and try it out for themselves.”
Students learn about the wide variety of careers in agriculture, how food gets from the farm to their table, the importance of healthy eating and the five food groups, and how farming successes and failures affect the economy. They have a chance to feel the difference in the various types of soil we have in Delaware, and then plant a seed in a cup to take home to see what it is like to grow their own food.
To create the mobile lab, the Foundation modified a trailer donated by the Delaware Department of Agriculture, using its two rows of cabinets as workstations for students. In order to make the classroom “mobile,” the foundation purchased a truck to pull the trailer with help from sponsors which included Delaware Electric Cooperative, Farm Credit, Hoober Inc., T.A. Seeds, Delaware FFA, Willis Chevrolet and Nationwide.
Delaware Farm Bureau Foundation continues to seek sponsors willing to help defray operational expenses. The Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, headquartered at the Delaware Farm Bureau office, 3457 DuPont Highway, Camden, DE 19934. Contact Laura Simpson at (302) 697-3183 for more information.
Seven schools took advantage of the Ag Lab experience in 2017, and reservations are now being taken for the spring 2018 schedule. Requests are on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact Simpson at the number above.
