North Carolina Children Learn About Agriculture
at Farm Animal Days
April 5th- 7th
written by: Jenifer Jordan Reynolds
photos by: Bridget Robinson
NCSU Crop Science Department
RALEIGH - The NCSU Crop Science Department was invited to participate in the Farm Animal Days event April 5th, 6th, and 7th. The event was held at the Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory Beef Unit and proved to be a fun opportunity for area children to learn about animals and agriculture, first hand.
Crop Science students and staff were available with of buckets of grain (corn, wheat, etc.) that kids could touch and run their fingers through. Buckets of cotton, a few plants, food products, and some clothes were on display to help connect the end product with agriculture. Agronomy Club Students answered questions about where food comes from and helped to provide a fun filled 3 days.
"Farm days was a lot of fun", said Bridget Robinson, who helped volunteer at the event. "I've got to confess, it was hard to compete with the baby chicks, they were really cute. Overall the kids really seemed most shocked by the fact that underwear and socks are made from cotton-when I pressed them and asked where they thought these items came from they seemed to draw a blank. It was as if they really had never thought about it before. I mostly enjoyed the expressions when I explained what agriculture was and how it affected them; it was as if little light bulbs went off when they learned about where clothes and food REALLY came from."
The Animal Science Department had a host of animals on display, students and staff from the department manned each station to help kids see and touch the animals. The end of the visit was capped off with NCSU Food Science Department ice cream. By all accounts, a great time was had by all.
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