Discover Secrest Arboretum

Are you and yours excited about the upcoming Lorax movie based on Dr. Suess's book? My household is for sure.

Source: cinemark.com via Jane on Pinterest

One of the key themes from the movie is protecting and enjoying the trees and forests we may often take for granted. In fact, the U.S. Forest Service has even launched a new public service announcement campaign with the Lorax:

Have YOU spent time enjoying and discovering the wonderful world of trees lately? If not, be sure to plan a visit to OARDC's own Secrest Arboretum. The 88-acre arboretum is perfect to explore on your own as a family. Much of the arboretum is even handicap accessible with paved paths through our holly plantation, unique plant collection, million flower walkway, prairie plantings, butterfly garden, water garden and so much more. There's even a Discovery Pavilion to learn about the biological calendar that affects us all, a forest plantation, deciduous tree planting, share tree planting and much much more.

Or, you can join in one of our upcoming special events like our Dormant Pruning Workshop, Guided Bird Walk, Scarlet Gray and Green Fair or even a Guided Spring Walk. Details for these events as well as directions to the arboretum can be found at the Secrest Arboretum website. 

Be sure to come back next week for more information on how you can use the Lorax book and movie as a teaching tool.

Don't let the bed bugs bite!

The thought might send a shiver down your spine, but bed bugs are real—and a real problem. OARDC us a leader in bed bug research. Here's the scoop:




Want to find out more about bugs? Be on the look out! Soon we will be opening registration for our 10TH ANNUAL A BUG'S WORLD program. This is a fun, fabulous and free educational program that will take place April 11-12 this spring. Stay tuned!

AgBC's: Z is for BuZZZZZ

I love being outdoors and hearing all the sounds during the warm summer months—including the buzz of the insects. Bees certainly aren't the only insects that buzz, but they are certainly the 1st insect that pops to mind when we think of buzzing, aren't they?

Photo from the Honeybee Conservancy

But did you know there are a whole host of bee species in addition to the honeybees and bumblebees we normally think of? There are 4,000 known species of bees native to the United States. Some of their common names include plasterer, leafcutter, mason, carder, digger and carpenter. Others earned their names by lapping up perspiration or humming loudly as they fly. 


Want to know how you can meet science standards for your students by teaching them about bees? Check out this archived video.

Learn how pollinators, particularly bees, can be used to teach standards-based science and get students actively engaged with their work and the outdoors.

• See this Web Seminar's Archive
• PowerPoint Presentation (19.7 MB)
• Presentation - PDF version (5.66 MB)
• Add this Web Seminar Archive to your NSTA Learning Center Library

This is the second of two Web Seminars in a series from PollinatorLIVE. The presentation includes a definition of pollinators and the tasks they perform as well as information about Bee Hunt—a program that allows educators to access and contribute to a large cache of images of various species of pollinators from across the country. You can also comprehensive curriculum for grades 3-6 that addresses plant pollinator relationships and related concepts and the Zaagkii Wings & Seeds Project.

AgBCs: Y is for Yams

Yams aren't just for holiday meals—they are fun for science, too!

Even though most Americans use the terms interchangeably, did you know yams and sweet potatoes are not the same thing? In fact they are not even related. Who knew, right?


Although yams and sweet potatoes are both angiosperms (flowering plants), they are not related botanically. Yams are a monocot (a plant having one embryonic seed leaf) and from the Dioscoreaceae or Yam family. Sweet Potatoes, often called ‘yams’, are a dicot (a plant having two embryonic seed leaves) and are from the Convolvulacea or morning glory family.


Want to have some REAL fun with yams? Try out this lab for converting the starch in yams to sugar. Pretty cool, huh?

AgBCs: X Marks the Barn Spot

I have to admit, the X letter of our AgBCs series had me stumped—until I saw a barn door like this:

Photo from Mike Gilliam photography.

Barns are an integral part of any livestock operation, providing protection and shelter for the livestock as well as farm supplies and equipment. Historic barns are not just rural relics, they are important tangible reminders of Ohio's rural heritage. Many barns and other older farm buildings can be rehabilitated to accommodate modern farming practices. The Ohio Historic Preservation Office and the Ohio State Extension encourage owners to maintain their historic buildings for future generations to use and appreciate. Check out the Barn Again program for more information on restoring historic barns.


Barns provide insight into the history and heritage of our early farmers. And they continue to provide learning opportunities today. Have you heard of Ohio's quilt barns? They offer a fun and scenic way to learn about not only various types of barn architecture but also quilting patterns.


And here in our part of Ohio, barn raisings are also an important part of the Amish community. Maybe your students can take their lead from Crayola and combine a lesson about the Amish culture with this fun barn raising project.

Have fun with learning about the history of barns!

Smart Stuff with Twig Walkingstick:Tomato Splatability

Twig Walkingstick lives in and around the Wooster campus of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. His alter ego is Kurt Knebusch, one of our super-talented writers and editors on campus. Each month, look for Twig to answer a reader questions and some additional interesting facts below. After Twig's post, we will be providing some ideas and suggestions on how to incorporate the info in Twig's column into fun science learning for your students and children.

Q. Dear Twig: Why do some tomatoes splat more when I throw them at my brother?

A. Everything else being equal - the ripeness of the tomato, how hard you throw it, what you throw it at - the type of tomato is the main thing: fresh market vs. processing.

"Your average ripe fresh-market tomato splats better than your average ripe processing type," says David Francis, a tomato breeder and geneticist at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center who seems to have something in his hand there, behind his back.

"Processing tomatoes don't splat well because they're high in dry matter and soluble ["soll-you-bull"] solids," he explains while offering me some sort of visual aid that flies past my head very quickly. "What you need for a good splat is water content."

Processing tomatoes need to be dryish. They go to make ketchup, salsa and tomato sauce. You don't want that stuff runny.

Fresh-market types, though, are better when juicy. They go into salads, for instance.

"Here!" Professor Francis says as he sends another visual aid (he's very helpful) in my direction. "See for yourself!"

Splatee,

Twig

P.S. Fresh-market tomatoes are usually the kind that you cut up and put on a hamburger.

Notes:

• Common fresh-market tomato varieties include Beefsteak and Better Boy.
• A common processing variety is Roma, though tomato breeders such as Professor Francis continue to develop new and better varieties based on flavor, soluble solids (more soluble solids and less water makes it easier and cheaper to process a processing tomato) and how well the plants resist diseases (greater resistance can mean less or even no need to spray fungicides). Read about the work he does.
• Soluble solids are materials (from tomatoes, in this case) that can be dissolved by or mixed into water - important if you're making, say, tomato juice and want it smooth.

Check out this fun lesson-plan for incorporating tomatoes into your healthy diet.

AgBCs: W is for Wool

Wool—it's the natural fiber grown from sheep. But besides keeping you warm in the winter, wool clothes can also keep you cool in the summer?

Wool is also flame resistant—it won't catch on fire. And, different breeds of sheep grow different kinds of wool. Fine wool is used to make suits, medium wool to make blankets and coarse wool is used to make carpets.


Taking a field trip to a sheep farm can be a fun way for students to learn about livestock production in Ohio. Don't know any sheep farmers? Contact the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association—or your state's organization—and they can help you connect with a sheep producer in your area. While there, ask to bring back some of the wool with you, then try this dun, "Dyed in the Wool" activity from the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association:

• Wet the wool. Make sure it's thoroughly washed and wet.
• Add 2 packages of sugarless Kool-Aid to a crockpot of water. You may use one package for a lighter shade.
• Stir.
• Add wool.
• Turn the crochet on high.
• When the crockpot is hot and steaming, you may turn the temperature down to "simmer" or low for 30 minutes.
• At the end of the 30 minutes, turn the crockpot off. The dye bath should be "exhausted."
• Now, rinse the wool and wash it with soap or detergent. Make sure the water temperature is consistent. Do not plunge the hot wool into cold water.

Have fun!