Soybeans - Activities provide a hands-on activity with germination to profile the soybean life cycle. Demonstrations include a Cocoa and NesQuick contest illustrating Lecithin. Soymilk and surface tension are also explored. Grades 2-5
Click here for the Soybean Ag Mag.
Corn - This activity has a computer program for lab that profiles corn history to modern uses. Lab activities include a corn plant review and corn starch and corn plastic activity. Grades 2-5
Click here for the Corn Ag Mag.
Christmas Trees - This program profiles the Richardson Tree Farm. A Power Point presentation provides a visual tour of the operation from planting to harvest. Includes a taxonomy lesson where students match needles and cones from a specimen bag to an identification sheet. A tree ring slices show the "age" the tree. Grades 2-5 Richardson Farm is featured in this Ag Mag.
Activities:
Corn Presentation, this is the format that the Ag in the Classroom person or the teacher would use in a Classroom presentation.
The Activities, The time, The concept,
1.) The life cycle of corn - 5 minute Tassel (Pollen-Male)
(Use corn life cycle activity)
Kernels (Eggs-Female)
Silk ( Pollen tube to each kernel
Leaves, Roots, Stalks
2.) Types of corn- 5 minutes Different DNA-in Field Popcorn, Indian Corn
3.) Corn products - 5 minutes 100's of collected products displayed.
6.) Shipping pellet race - 5 minutes Biodegradable where
Styrofoam is not!
7.) Making plastic - 10 minutes Corn Plastic
8.) Popcorn - 5 minutes Popcorn on Cob!
8.) Corn History - 20 minutes Interactive U of I
Ext. Program
Life Cycle of Corn Lab Sheet attached
Pellet race- 2 boys get stryrofoam pellets, 2 girls get corn pellets. They attempt to
dissolve in water. Stryrofoam will not dissolve and will be in the landfills
thousands of years from now. Corn pellets are starch and dissolve in
water.
Making plastic, Corn ag mag activity. Uses liquid corn starch and microwave to
Produce a plastic ball that bounces and dissolves in water unlike
oil based plastics which will be in landfills forever.
Ear popcorn will pop on the cob in your microwave. Why does popcorn pop?
Moisture in the kernel turns to steam when heated. Steam expands
and pushes out the starch in kernel in tiny "bubbles" of white starch
Corn History, students use that computer lab to guide themselves through the long
History of corn right up to modern day.
Email mcfbaitc@att.net or call 815-338-1521 for further information.
