Agriculture Awareness Day: Cultivating the Future

Agriculture Awareness Day offers free, one-day programs for third and fifth graders, focusing on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) through agriculture. These interactive sessions align with Virginia state education standards and provide unique learning experiences at no cost to schools or students. By sparking an early interest in science, the program motivates students to discover opportunities in STEM and agriculture.

Third-grade students visit 15 interactive stations where they:

• Take home a tree to plant
• Make paper from wood pulp
• Learn about renewable resources
• Understand soil erosion
• Explore simple machines
• Study force and motion
• Practice measuring
• Discover vermicomposting
• Learn about wildlife
• Investigate local vegetables and crops
• Crawl through a soil tunnel
• Make a water cycle bracelet
• Interact with cows, sheep, and poultry

Fifth-grade students:

• Make an animal cell model in a zip-lock bag
• Learn about polymers by playing with Oobleck
• Study Earth’s resources by dissecting an apple
• Extract DNA from strawberries
• Participate in the Bake for Good program conducted by King Arthur Baking Company

When you give to this program and share it with others, you are helping the Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center inspire and educate over 1,200 students from six rural counties. Our mission is to bridge the gap in experiential STEM learning opportunities for K-12 students in these areas. Through our Ag Awareness Day programs, we focus on hands-on, inquiry-based learning activities that foster interdisciplinary understanding, inspire curiosity, and empower students to ask questions and solve real-world problems.

Today’s students are tomorrow’s decision-makers. It’s vital that they understand the importance of environmental stewardship, ecosystem health, and agriculture through programs such as Agriculture Awareness Day.

Every gift will help to inspire and educate students about these crucial topics, empowering them to become informed and responsible future leaders. Join us in making a difference!