By Julie Tomascik
Editor
Texas Farm Bureau is bringing agriculture and education to life in a new way with a dedicated learning lab at its Waco headquarters.
The agriculture and education learning lab provides a flexible learning space designed for hands-on activities, teacher training and youth programs. It was designed to replicate the classrooms where teachers and students learn every day.
“This gives us a space designed around how we connect agriculture to various subject areas such as science, social studies, math and more,” Jordan Bartels, TFB associate director of Organization Division, said. “We have the flexibility and tools to create hands-on learning experiences that aren’t always possible in a traditional meeting space.”
The agriculture and education learning lab includes rolling tables with dry erase surfaces, rolling chairs and rotating supply bins stocked with tools for hands-on activities. Two interactive displays can be moved throughout the room and used as whiteboards or presentation screens.
The space can accommodate up to 60 people or be divided into two sections for groups of 30.
The agriculture and education learning lab also includes durable flooring and electrical capabilities that allow educators to use hot plates and other equipment needed for science-based lessons.
Those features create opportunities for activities that can be difficult to conduct in traditional conference spaces. Bartels noted teachers can make mozzarella cheese to demonstrate changing states of matter or participate in a beef carcass breakdown to connect agriculture, food and science.
“We want people to be active participants in the learning process,” Bartels said. “Agriculture provides so many opportunities to teach science, math and other subjects through real-world examples. This agriculture and education learning lab gives us more flexibility to demonstrate those connections.”
The new space is already open and booked for several programs this fall.
It will support TFB’s Agriculture in the Classroom® program, which has expanded its teacher professional development efforts over the past decade.
Programs planned for the space include Summer Ag Institute, professional development for agricultural science teachers, Agriculture in the Classroom® Ambassador Training and Doorways to Agriculture intern training.
Students also will use the agriculture and education learning lab through TFB Youth Outreach programs. The space can host Student Success Series events, Collegiate Farm Bureau development programs and other educational activities.
Together, those programs help TFB expand agricultural literacy across the state.
“We want teachers and students to experience agriculture through hands-on learning,” Bartels said. “Teachers can experience activities they can take back to their classrooms, and students can make connections between agriculture and what they’re learning in school.”
For more information about TFB’s Agriculture in the Classroom® program, visit texasfarmbureau.org/aitc. Learn more about TFB youth programs at texasfarmbureau.org/youth.
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