RANSON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia Farm Bureau's Mobile Agriculture Education Science Lab visited Ranson Elementary School this week. The 46-foot lab is a fully self-contained unit equipped with multiple research stations to engage students in learning. A retired certified teacher guides students through hands-on experiments and activities designed to meet the WV Department of Education Next Generation standards.
Students saw the importance of agriculture in everyday living through experimentation and learned how to make healthier choices through skills like reading nutrition labels. RES Principal Lance Astorino said students have enjoyed the opportunity.
“This mobile learning lab encompasses the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ surrounding the resources our state has to offer and gives our students a deeper appreciation for those resources," Astorino said. "They are beginning to truly understand where their food comes from.”
Experiments included making glue from milk and comparing it to commercial glue, looking at how to make plastic from corn, and even extracting DNA from a strawberry.
The WV Farm Bureau provides leadership, education, information, training, and economic services to county Farm Bureaus to enhance the quality of life for their more than 6,600 members.