Farmers Union released STEM:IT AG. A STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) focused on agriculture, food and natural resources for kindergarten through 12th grade students.<\/p>\n
The curriculum is a joint effort between five Farmers Union state organizations
\n(Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin), which comprise
\nFarmers Union Enterprises, based in Redwood Falls, Minn. Farmers Union Enterprises
\npartnered with the design group, STEM Fuse to produce and distribute the curriculum.<\/p>\n
Doug Sombke, president of Farmers Union Enterprises and South Dakota Farmers Union. Says \u201cTalk about making science relevant \u2013 all students eat.\u00a0 We are excited to
\nshare this curriculum which integrates STEM-based information into interactive units
\nabout agriculture and where food comes from with educators and students throughout
\nthe nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter Tatge, founder and CEO of STEM Fuse, says, \u00a0\u201cCollaborating with the Farmers Union Enterprises team, we designed the curriculum to easily integrate ag-based STEM education in any unit teachers are focusing on.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need a STEM
\nbackground or an agriculture background to provide STEM:IT AG to students. In fact,
\nthe curriculum requires little guidance from educators.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miranda Letherman, North Dakota Farmers Union youth education specialist, said the
\ncurriculum also exposes students to potential careers, everything from computer
\ncoding and three-dimensional (3D) printing to developing agricultural commodities.
\nIn one STEM:IT AG challenge, students create a tool that could be used to harvest a
\ncrop, while another challenge asks them to design a solar oven from a shoebox,
\ntinfoil and black paper to heat up food using the sun\u2019s energy.<\/p>\n