This year's Youth Committee for Wisconsin Farm Technology Days is focusing on the science related to agriculture and many activities have been planned for young people from elementary school all the way up through high school.
"We are trying to have activities for every age," says Rhonda Knapp, the committee's chairwoman, who is the FFA advisor and teaches at Waunakee High School.
Knapp, who recruited every FFA advisor in Dane County to serve on her committee, says they are focusing on activities related to the STEM curriculum, which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Kids visiting this year's Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, Aug. 25-27 at the Statz Bros. Inc. between Sun Prairie and Marshall, will have the chance to work with University of Wisconsin biotechnology experts to isolate DNA and make DNA chain necklaces.
"We will have the Sheboygan County Dairy Promotion trailer there, which has a talking cow that can be milked to help educate kids about the dairy industry," Knapp says. "There will also be a pond as part of the Youth Tent where volunteers will help children learn how to fish. There's a non-profit group that teaches kids about fishing and during the show they will be able to learn how to cast."
As part of the science focus, visitors will be able to learn how to practice with micro-pipettes, which are important to so many laboratory procedures.
A Verona FFA Alumni member owns a pedal tractor pulling setup that the committee plans to bring to the show so children can not only have fun with the pedal tractors, but learn about physics. Knapp says they hope to help kids calculate force and horsepower they have generated with their pulling activities.
Knapp says they are preparing for as many as 2,000 young people per day to visit their tent at the show.
8.10.2015