LV Kids Take Feild Trip to MVHS Ag Farm

City Meets The Farm

Moapa Valley High School’s Ag Farm was filled with awe and curiosity last week as the 2^nd graders from Sandy Miller Elementary School learned about life on the farm. Instead of sending a lot of kids at one time, the Las Vegas school broke them up into three days, sending kids out on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday last week. The FFA and Agriculture teacher, Denise O’Tool said, “Last year when they came it was a big group of 500, so we decided to break it up and do smaller groups this year.” She found the new system to work smoother and could talk to the kids on an individual basis. According to O’Tool, the purpose of the kids going to the Ag farm was to teach them about food and where it comes from. The FFA and Ag students ran the show, the high school students researched and planned their presentations for the children. As they gave their presentation they included interesting facts about that particular item.

There were 4 stations for the children to rotate through. At one station the kids had their picture taken on a tractor and then got to go see the chickens. Students from Ag class let them go inside the chicken coop and pick out an egg. The kids also went inside the green house to see the hydroponic plants the farm is growing.

Roo’s N More Petting Zoo brought a few of their animals to show off. At this station they were able to pet a tortoise, kookaburra, baby kangaroo, and a caracal kitten. For many of the children, this was their favorite station. One little girls said that she liked it because the only animals she ever sees are dogs, cats, and snakes.

At another station the 2^nd graders got to learn how to churn butter, and start seed germination. Alex Jones had prepared “seed babies” for each child. Jones had began germinating the seeds by pre soaking them. The kids put their seeds in a small tube and were supposed to wear them around their necks. The warmth of their body keeps the seeds warm and allows them to sprout. Jones said, “It takes 2 to 3 days for them to sprout and the kids can watch the seeds grow.”

The Clark County Farm Bureau brought material to hand out to the students that taught about farms and where food comes from. Each child received a packet with a coloring book or magazine. The CC Farm Bureau also brought along their plastic milking cow. Maggie the Milking Cow simulates milking a cow without all the dangers of getting kicked.

Then the kids got to go see real cows, FFA students Kenna McMurray and Leah Bradbury explained to the kids that the cows at the Ag farm are for meat and don’t get milked. They also showed them a pile of corn that gets fed to the cows and then the kids got to see the pumpkin patch.

Bringing school kids out on a field trip to the Ag Farm is something the Agriculture Program and MVHS tries to do every year. O’Tool said she is hoping to write a grant to pay for the school buses to make the journey out here. She wants students to have a good experience with agriculture.