Ag-Kits

Educational Resources for Educators

• Dairy Cow Capers—Exploring Dairy Farming and Nutrition (K-6)
• Getting to the Core—Apples and Orchards (K-6)
• Pondering Pizza—A Slice of Agriculture (K-6)
• Unraveling Fibers—More then Just Clothes (K-6)
• Eggsploring Poultry—Cracking The Egg (K-6)
• Pumpkin Patch—A Vine Through Time (K-6)

• Eggciting Experiments—Chick Incubation and Embryology (K-8) Students participate in a 5 week study of living organisms including incubation of chicken eggs, charting events as the embryos develop in the eggs, and observation and care of the hatched chicks.
• Agriculture Renews our Planet—Growing Energy for the Future (K-8) Students compare soy ink with petroleum-based ink, make bio-gradable plastics from corn, and compare renewable and nonrenewable natural resources.
• Insects: Agriculture's Foes or Friends (K-8)—Students study the parts of a grasshopper and compare it to close relatives, study and compare honeybee queens, drones, and workers, and study the role of the honeybee in plant pollination. (no Replacement Pack)
• Probing Our Soils: Getting to the Roots of Agriculture (2-8)—Students collect soil samples, study soil texture and structure, determine acid and base reactions, measure pH, compare moisture holding capacity of different soils, and examine the effects of soil erosion and pollutants.
• Protein Providers: The Superb Soybean (K-8)—Students examine the effect of water on seeds, learn the parts of seeds, compare monocot with dicot seeds and plants, study the effects of temperature variations on seed germination and plant growth, and investigate the many uses of soybean products in our lives.
• Animals in Agriculture: Their Growth and Development (4-8)—Students compare common food products with a complete livestock feed, checking for protein, sugar, starch, fat and vitamin C. They dissect a chicken wing, comparing it with the parts and functions of the human arm. Scale animal models are used to help learn about livestock weight estimates and weight gain.
• Dairy Delights: Good Nutrition from Milk (K-8)—This kit provides hands-on experiences for students as they become involved in demonstrating the processes of using milk and acids, enzymes, bacteria, heat and cold to make glue, cottage cheese, yogurt and ice cream.
• Growing Better Every Day: Using Genetics to Improve Agriculture (6-8)—Colored paper clips are used to illustrate genes and chromosome chains as students learn how traits are inherited by offspring from parents. A germination study of seeds which produce albino or normal green corn plants helps students understand genotypes and phentypes. Students learn about probabilities of transmission of two genes from parent to offspring. (no Replacement Pack)
• Agriculture Measures Up: Using Mathematics in Agriculture (3-8)—Students compute the areas and calculate the perimeters of enclosures as they study the most economical use of fencing. A small jar of shelled corn is used to simulate a grain bin as students learn to estimate weights, numbers, and volumes. Students determine the amount of fertilizer needed for the lawn of a problem home after they have calculated the areas of the lot, house, garage and driveway. (no Replacement Pack)
• Rain or Shine: Weather's Effect on Agriculture—Students build a terarium to observe the water cycle and compare the growth rates of three types of plants. Students build growth chambers to observe how various light colors influence plant growth. They use varying fertilizer rates in an attempt to grow larger, healthier plants.
• Soil Erosion Hands-On Science Kit—First in a series of soil conservation and water quality projects, this kit tackles the high-priority problem of soil erosion. Based around the Secret Agent Worm book, The Disappearing Earth, the kit includes a variety of exciting materials:
  1. A teacher's guide, which includes soil erosion experiments and spy activities.
  2. Materials to run four soil erosion experiments with two "spy" activities.
  3. A teacher's packet that includes 6 activity sheets, 2 posters, 30 bookmarks, and 30 Secret Agent Worm stick-on badges.
  4. A copy of The Disappearing Earth.
  5. 30 top-secret file folders in which students can store activity sheets.
• Biotechnology: Applications in Agriculture Kit—(7-10) The student activities include creating recombinant poems, building DNA models, deciphering DNA codes, building an electrophoresis chamber and debating biotechnology issues. The kit includes a teacher's activity guide, PowerPoint presentation of lessons, a Biotechnology CD-ROM, materials to conduct all activities and resource information.

• The Biological Science & Plants Kit—This kit contains 5 daily lesson plans including: Plant Identification, Asexual Plant Reproduction, Sexual Plant Reproduction, Photosynthesis, Plant Conductive Tissues and Soil pH Analysis. This kit also contains all learning materials, self-guided computer disk, teacher manual and 10 student manuals.
• The Physical Agiscience Kit—This kit contains 5 daily lesson plans including: Heat Energy, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Solar Energy, Mechanical Advantage, Electrical Energy and Energy Conservation. This kit also contains the teaching manual, 10 student manuals, Student Self-Guided Computer Disk and all materials and supplies.
• Hydroponics Kit—The Hydroponics Agriscience Kit contains a five day lesson including: Teaching Manual, 10 Student Manuals, Self-Guided Computer Disk and all materials and supplies.
• Soybean, Polymers, and Oils Kit—The Soybean Agriscience Kit introduces students to the science of polymers and oils by providing science experiment materials which students can use to produce everyday products from soybeans. Students will make salad dressing, lip balm, hand cream,candles, crayons, and other everyday items such as ink and glue from soybeans. This kit also contains the Teaching Manual, 45 minute video tape for the teacher to use in preparation for conducting the experiments, and all materials and supplies needed for a group of 30 students divided into 10 learning groups.
• Animal Welfare Kit—(Curriculum Guide only).
• Animal Technology Kit—From Producer to Consumer (Curriculum Guide only).
• Crop Technology Kit—From Producer to Consumer (Curriculum Guide only).
• Endangered Species Kit—(Curriculum Guide only).
• Hunting and Fishing in America Kit—(Curriculum Guide only).