Deborah Prescott | Daily Press FARM Science Lab Manager Michelle Blodgett explains to students that dirt is needed to grow plants during a lab session last week at the FARM Science Lab. The lab is a 40-foot mobile classroom equipted with with STEM-based lessons. Students from Lemmer Elementary and the Learning Center attended the lab last week. See page 7A for more coverage.

ESCANABA — Students from the Delta Schoolcraft Intermediate School District Learning Center and Lemmer Elementary were taught where food, toys, and medicine may come from during a visit from the Food, Agriculture and Resources in Motion (FARM) Science Lab Wednesday. Children visited the 40-foot mobile classroom, parked in the school parking lot, where FARM Science Lab Manager Michelle Blodgett welcomed the students and then asked them what they thought was on a farm.

The students learned agriculture is the science of farming. Through instruction and flash cards, they were taught about products that come from farms.

The class made FARM necklaces, with the help of Blodgett and volunteer Warren Schauer. To make a necklace, students were given a small plastic bag to hold open while Blodgett and Schauer filled each bag with items needed to grow a plant. Students were told by Blodgett what was needed, and the corresponding symbolic item was then placed in the bag. Once completed, each bag was secured with a piece of yarn, completing the necklace.

“I enjoy working with these kids,” said Blodgett. “This is my second year here… Other lessons taught in the lab will include the students making their own lip balm to take home.”

The FARM Science Lab came from an idea some Farm Bureau members had and was made possible by the Michigan Foundation for Agriculture. The idea was brought to life by donations from 26 county Farm Bureau members.

“With financial backing from two county Farm Bureaus, the idea became a reality as our State Promotion and Education Committee embraced the project,” said Blodgett.

Schauer is on the advisory committee made up of individuals representing varied interests in agriculture and schools. The committee recommended to directly reach out to schools with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) based lessons related to agriculture in the form of a mobile classroom.

Blodgett joined the program after the spring pilot of the lab in 2017.

“We have grown and now have 20 regional leaders,” said Blodgett.

The lab has visited over 100 schools through Michigan, impacting more than 31,000 students and 1,200 teachers. This is the second year the mobile classroom was brought to the Upper Peninsula.

The FARM Science Lab is equipped with the latest teaching technologies and lessons that meet Next Generation Science Standards and National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes to increase agricultural awareness.

The FARM Science Lab will be at the DSISD Learning Center through today.

Teachers or school districts can visit www.farmsciencelab.org to book the lab for the 2020-2021 school year. Additional information can be obtained from the website.