Education News — Winter 2025
What’s New in Education: Greenhouse Learning, New Programs & Fresh Resources
There’s a lot happening this season at Food + Farm Exploration Center! In this winter edition of our Education Update, we’re sharing new outreach options for 4K classroom visits, afterschool programming, new Dig-In lessons for all ages, and brand-new digital resources created to support educators in and out of the classroom.
At Food + Farm Exploration Center
New Exhibit
We recently opened a brand new exhibit: the greenhouse! Visitors will experience how greenhouses are used in production agriculture and provide another year-round opportunity to delve deeper into Wisconsin grown crops, including potatoes, sweet corn, carrots, beets, onions, green beans, peas and more! Stop in monthly to see a different crop highlighted and the challenges producers face in the field, such as disease and pest damage. Thank you to our generous greenhouse sponsors: Carol and Dick Okray!
From our Outreach Team
4k Programs
We’ve been working hard to create new programs designed for our 4K learners. We have several programs that highlight potatoes, green beans, cranberries, and other vegetables and fruit. Each includes a story and a hands-on activity that lasts about thirty minutes. Reserve your spot today!
Afterschool programs
We partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Portage County and Pittsville Elementary School to participate in their afterschool programs twice a month. During each visit, staff members lead students through an activity related to production agriculture and our focus crops. In October, students learned about pollinators in agriculture, engineered pumpkin pickers, and made pumpkin pie in a cup.
Field trip dates are filling fast!
Have you brought your class to Food + Farm Exploration Center yet? If not, we still have spots available for December field trips and are booking into the spring. Secure a date for your school field trip today!
New Resources
Dig-In Lessons
We added several new options for Dig-In lessons that can be added to any field trip. Each highlights a specific topic & relates agriculture to it’s impact on student’s lives.
Elementary Dig-Ins
Insects in Agriculture | Explore the world of insects and how they impact agriculture through hands-on lessons adapted for each grade level: Beautiful Bugs (4K-K), Pollinators (Grades K-2), or Insect Investigators (grades 3-5).
Middle & High School Dig-Ins
Water Wise: Precision Irrigation | Dive into the water cycle, precision technology, & sustainable engineering practices in this hands-on irrigation and technology lesson. Students will construct their own irrigation system to meet specific water demands.
From Field to Factory to Fork: An Investigation | Discover how and why foods are processed certain ways with an introduction to the different levels of processing & their correlation to nutritional value. Students will conduct a taste test of products from various processing methods.
Selling Your Spud | An exciting lesson where culinary skills meet business smarts! Students will become food scientists and entrepreneurs as they design their own unique mashed potato product from flavor concept to marketing.
Ag Fact Sheets
We’re creating agricultural fact sheets for vegetables grown in the Central Sands region of Wisconsin. We currently have beets, cabbage, carrots, corn, green beans, green peas and onions. Download an Ag Fact Sheet for your classroom today!
Enrich Your Classroom with an Outreach Visit
Looking to deepen your students’ connection to agriculture? Our educators bring interactive, grade-appropriate activities right to your school—at no cost for classrooms within 45 miles of Plover, WI. Outreach visits can complement an upcoming field trip or stand alone as a memorable learning experience.