Ever since Virginia inventor Cyrus McCormick perfected the mechanical reaper in the 1830s, engineers have sought ways to grow more food using fewer people. Now, they’re close to taking Old MacDonald off the farm altogether. Meet the agribot, already in use harvesting hard-to-pick edibles.

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Filed under: Special Features | 1 Comment »

Tags: Agricultural, Agricultural Engineering, Problem Solving, Robotics

For a former New York public school teacher and six young African-American men, a wrecked grocery store in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward has become a place of second chances. Nat Turner, a former history teacher, is the founder of Our School at Blair Grocery, a fledgling educational venture and commercial urban farm. The enterprise is an unusual hybrid of G.E.D. training and a farm academy.

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Filed under: K-12 Education News | Comments Off on Amid New Orleans Blight, an Unusual School Puts Down Roots

Tags: Agricultural, Community Awareness, Community Service, Gardening, Green, Minority Group Students

What kinds of foods are easiest to ferment for fuel? Ethanol is made from a variety of plant substances – corn, sugar cane, even some kinds of wood. In this activity, students test different substances to see what they can learn about fermentation.

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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 9-12 | Comments Off on Activity: Ethanol Fermentation

Tags: Agricultural, Alternative Energy, Alternative Fuels, Class Activities, Environmental Engineering, Grades 9-12, Green Technology

60 freshman at Maryland’s North Harford High School will be the first to join a new Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences program, spending time outside the classroom in barns, pastures, and fields to learn about farming and the environment.

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Filed under: K-12 Education News | Comments Off on Science Class in Fields and Forests

Tags: Agricultural, Environmental Engineering, Environmental science, Programs for Students

This lesson explores how civil engineering has solved the challenge of moving water through irrigation. Students work in teams to design and build their own model irrigation system out of everyday items. They test their systems, evaluate their results, and present their findings to the class.

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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | 2 Comments »

Tags: Agricultural, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans, Water management

An on-line exhibit on DNA for middle and high school students, with background information, activities, a Webquest, and a downloadable exhibition guide and student worksheets on DNA-related issues, including forensics, crops, and infectious diseases.

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Filed under: Web Resources | Comments Off on Online Exhibit: DNA at Work

Tags: Agricultural, Class Activities, Disease, Forensics, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Museums, Webquest, Worksheets