Kansas Corn Wraps Up First of Two Seed to STEM Teacher Workshops

Forty Kansas middle school and high school science teachers were in Ottawa this week to participate in Kansas Corn’s Seed to STEM science workshops. In its third year, the Seed to STEM Program offers lessons and labs that meet the Next Generation Science Standards using agriculture as a focus. Another 40 science educators will attend the Wichita workshop on June 26-27 in Wichita.

“Science teachers are important to us because science is important to agriculture,” Kansas Corn Commission Education Director Sharon Thielen said. “We give them valuable, hands-on learning experiences in the classroom, in the labs, on a farm and at an ethanol plant.”

The first day of the Ottawa Seed to STEM workshop began with classroom instruction and labs and ended with a farm tour and dinner at the farm of Charlie and Jessica Brunker near Ottawa. The second day of the workshop completed the classroom and lab activities and wrapped up with a tour of the East Kansas Agri Energy ethanol plant in Garnett. The teachers were treated with an appearance of the Renewable Fuels Association’s ethanol motorcycle that was designed and featured on the American Chopper television show. Watch highlights from the show featuring the RFA motorcycle here!