Students across northwest Iowa got a hands-on lesson in agriculture this week as the Seed Survivor mobile classroom made stops at several area schools, including Orange City Christian and Boyden-Hull.
The traveling classroom, operated through the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation in partnership with Nutrien, gives students an interactive look at plant science, soil health, and the role agriculture plays in everyday life.
Kelly Foss, executive director of the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation, says the goal is to connect what students are already learning in the classroom to real-world applications.
During a visit on Tuesday at Orange City Christian, third-grade students rotated through a presentation before taking part in hands-on activities inside and outside the mobile unit.
Inside the trailer, students explored interactive stations featuring touchscreen games, simulated weather systems, and lessons on plant nutrients and crop growth. Students had the opportunity to learn what plants need to survive, including water, sunlight, and nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and how soil layers support plant life.
Outside, students dug into activities that brought those concepts to life—planting seeds, examining soil, and even searching for fossils.
Jennifer Noteboom, a second-grade teacher at Orange City Christian, says that the hands-on approach makes a big difference.
Foss says that kind of experiential learning is central to the program.
The mobile classroom is designed primarily for third and fourth-grade students and serves as what Foss calls a “gateway” into broader agricultural education.
The program wrapped up a week of local stops that included:
•Monday: Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary
•Tuesday: Orange City Christian
•Wednesday: Boyden-Hull
•Thursday: East Elementary in Sheldon
Statewide, Foss says the nine-week tour reached about 4,200 students in 45 schools across 14 counties.
In Orange City, Noteboom says that her class has already been learning about agriculture.
Foss says even in rural communities, students don’t always fully understand what they see around them, and programs like this help bridge that gap.
/ Photo: SCR
/ Photo: SCR
