HENDRICKS COUNTY — 560 fourth graders from took a trip to the Hendricks County Fairgrounds on Thursday to learn about everything from tractors to seeds to livestock.
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Hendricks County Ag Day featured multiple stations for students to rotate between, each with a different hands-on topic, including how to safely pet farm animals.
"We're learning about animals and what they eat," explained one of the fourth graders named Emmy. "We are actually seeing real-life animals!"
"Do they have real teeth?" one student asked before petting a goat.
These are things most students rarely see at school.
"Most of my classmates grew up in the city," said Gabe.
Each fourth grader had a different activity they enjoyed most.
For Blaire, petting the sheep was a favorite, but she proudly wore the new seed necklace she crafted at one station.
"It has a seed in it and cotton ball," Blaire explained. "We got the cotton ball wet, and so the seed will grow. When it's springtime, you can plant this outside."
Students also learned how those seeds become corn, beans and wheat, Indiana's three main row crops, which become part of the food the students eat every day.
"If we didn't have farmers, we would not have much clothes, like we wouldn't have leather shoes and clothes, and we would not have like footballs," Blaire shared some of the things she learned.
Fourth graders aren't the only students at Ag Day; older FFA students are on hand to lead groups and teach some topics.
Jessie Scolaro was one of these teachers.
"When kids think about agriculture, they're only thinking about animals and crops, and they don't realize how much really has to go into soils," Scolaro said.
Her station was walking students through how to take soil measurements like temperature and pH.
"I really love working with kids and getting to teach them about things that they don't normally know," Scolaro continued. "Seeing some of the surprised looks on their faces. It's really fun."
Scolaro said even some of the teachers on the field trip learned some things about agriculture.
Other FFA members, like Branson Tennery, are in charge of walking classes from station to station.
"It's a very fun experience. I actually remember whenever I was in fourth grade, and I came here, and I was doing this," Tennery recalled. "I remember very distinctly learning about where our clothes and food come from."
Tennery's love of agriculture encouraged him to volunteer at Ag Day.
"If you don't teach them, how else are they going to learn? It's an absolutely crucial part of our society, is agriculture," Tennery said. "That's the backbone of our civilization."
Few of these fourth graders will grow up to be farmers, but at least they have a new appreciation for Indiana agriculture.
"Farmers are great," said Blaire.
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