We had beautiful weather today for our field trip to Brubaker Park. We rotated through 12 stations where Garden Spot High School agriculture students and members of FFA taught us about different ag topics. Everything was organized by Ag teacher Mrs. Beam. We had a fun day!
Our first station was Tractor Safety. We started with a matching activity to match farm equipment with name labels. They we enjoyed a hay ride pulled by a tractor.
Our 2nd station was Farm Bingo.
At our 3rd station we learned about how farmers notch pigs’ ears to keep track of their birthdates. Each third grader made a set of pig ears and notched them to show their birthday.
During our 4th station we learned the difference between goats and sheep and got to pet some.
‘The dairy station was 5th. We learned the process of getting milk from the cow to the grocery store. We played a game where teams had to squeeze water from a sponge to fill a gallon container and we got to taste some chocolate milk.
At our 6th station we learned about rabbits. We played a game to label the rabbit’s body parts and we got to touch very soft rabbits.
For our 7th station we enjoyed a hike through the woods. We stopped by the pond and were quiet enough to spot 9 turtles sunning themselves on logs.
At the Biodegradable Planting station we learned about using biodegradable pots when starting seedlings. We planted sunflower seeds in paper cups that can be repotted into larger pots once they outgrow these starter pots. It will take about a week for the seeds to germinate.
Next we got to explore the exhibits that students in the Pathways program had created about different animal species. It was like a mini-museum to explore.
Finally (11:45) it was time for lunch. Everyone was hungry since we hadn’t had our usual morning snack. We ate our packed lunches and enjoyed a “recess” on the playground and grassy areas.
We visited 3 stations after lunch. We started with PA Wildlife where we learned some facts about common wild animals from PA including our state mammal and bird.
At the pollination station we learned about different insects and animals that help pollinate plants. We played a bees vs. flowers game and got to take home a honey stick to enjoy.
Our final station was the Stream Study. We talked about healthy vs. polluted streams and played a game to remove trash and debris from the “stream” buckets. We also got to look at some stream specimens that had been collected this morning.
It was a busy day of learning outside the classroom!
