Mobile Lab connects students to agriculture

By SARAH HUIRLBURT Sentinel Correspondent

The Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation strives to bring agricultural education to students in unique and creative ways.

The foundation reaches more than 100,000 students a year with their mobile ag lab program. They are currently raising money to help fund their endeavors in furthering agricultural education.

The mission of the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation is to cultivate a greater understanding of agriculture for all Pennsylvanians. Charlene M. Shupp Espenshade, CFRE Executive Director Pennsylvania Friends said “Most students do not have a direct connection to a farm. Through a visit to the ag lab, we hope to provide an educational experience that students realize the importance of farmers and agricultural products in their daily lives.”

The Mobile Agriculture Education Science Lab is a 40-foot mobile classroom that travels across the state of Pennsylvania bringing an interactive field trip style experience directly to schools and students in grades K-8.

It is equipped with over 30 STEM-based science experiments and lessons, a certified teacher, and all the supplies needed for a hands-on learning experience. Each science experiment is designed to emphasize a different aspect of agriculture, including Pennsylvania’s commodities, the environment, biotechnology, food and fiber.

While in the lab, students work cooperatively to solve a problem as they form a hypothesis, collect data and draw conclusions while focusing on the scientific method.

Each lesson on the Mobile Ag Lab focuses on increasing student knowledge on the importance of agriculture and its impact on their daily lives.

Foundation programs are donor supported and keep programs such as the Mobile Ag Ed Science Lab affordable to schools.

Donors also provide funding opportunities to lower a school’s ag lab visit cost. Additionally, the program is eligible for the Education Income Tax Credit (EITC) which allows qualifying businesses to donate to the foundation in support of the ag lab program.

“The countless thank you cards we receive from students showcase the impact of the mobile labs as they share what they learned during their class visit. From learning how to make crayons from soybeans, glue from milk, and the role of pollinators to learning about a potential career in agriculture, the ag lab has been educating students for nearly 20 years.” Shupp Espenshade added, “We will visit more than 155 schools this year and reach about 100,000 students with our programs. We have also begun scheduling for the 2023-24 school year. Demand for the ag lab program remains strong as it provides a field trip to the school parking lot.”

For those interested in donating

• Every donation of just

$5 reaches one student;

• A $100 donation serves one classroom;

• A $250 donation pays for an attendee at the Winter Agriculture Workshop;

• A $500 donation covers over 850 miles of transportation for a lab;

• A $750 donation pays for a teacher to attend the Educator’s Agriculture Institute over the summer;

• A $1,000 donation covers a week of staffing for the brand new “Farms to Families” Immersion Lab.