The North Carolina Soybean Producers Association is kicking off a new program to reach elementary and middle school students visiting the State Capitol complex in Raleigh. The program launches on October 4. The association partnered with the N.C. Museum of History to identify visiting groups from Title I schools and provide a drawstring backpack with a soybean seed germination kit, an activity book, a pencil and a bottle of water. The seed germination kit contains soybean seed, crystal soil and a printed card with simple instructions and soy facts. The association is expecting to serve 5000 students in the first months of the program.
Title I schools have a high number of low income and at-risk students and are found in both urban and rural North Carolina. The N.C. Museum of History provides travel funding to enable these schools to send field trips to visit the museum and other museums and cultural sites near the Capitol in Raleigh. The soybean association provides the backpack kits to these school groups if the teachers or group leaders request the service. The objective is to share some simple messages about plant science, soybean production and soybean farming in North Carolina.
The seed germination kits and backpacks are assembled by the Durham Exchange Club Industries (DECI) which provides job services for mentally challenged adults.
While at the N.C. Museum of History, students get more impressions of agriculture from the historical crops grown in planters outside the museum on Centennial Mall. That exhibit is a production of the N.C. Museum of History in partnership with Syngenta. Students can see crops that 17th, 18th and 19th century farmers produced in the state as well as modern selections.
