Hi ,
Welcome to the 2009-2010 school year, it is off to a great start! Already Silos & Smokestacks has distributed $12,000 in bus grants to 48 schools. Sending over 3,100 students to over 24 partner sites. Some of the places Iowa students will be visiting are;
Laura Ingalls Wilder Park & Museum Calmar Dairy Center  Hartman Reserve Nature Center
Ft. Atkinson State Preserve
Effigy Mounds National Monument
Montauk
National Mississippi River Museum
While the 2009-2010 Bus Grant Cycle has come to an end, next year's bus grant cycle will begin August 1, 2010. So mark your calendars! Listed below are two great field trip destinations, web resources, and upcoming ICN sessions.
Be sure to check it out!
Special Note I would like to take a moment to mention that partner site Living History Farms is hosting a Teacher Appreciation Day on October 11 from 12pm to 5 pm. This event is free to all teachers! Pre-registration is required. To register call Dan Jone at:515.278.5286.
Angi Reid
Education & Interpretation Manager
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area
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| Hawkeye Buffalo Ranch |
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 Located in Fredericksburg, Hawkeye Buffalo Ranch sits on 500 acres of rolling Iowa farmland. Roaming this land is a herd of buffalo. Native to North America this megafauna personifies the beauty of the Midwest and the heritage of this land.
School groups visiting the ranch can learn about the history of the buffalo and how they were once hunted with spears called atlatls. After this introduction they load onto a wagon in search of the buffalo herd. Throughout the adventurous ride, students will see other wild animals including deer, hawks and eagles.
Once the herd is found, students hand-feed the buffalo, staring this goliath of the prairie in the eye. The cost of this tour is $3 per student. For more information or to set up your field trip call Dan McFarland and Family at 563.237.5318 or visit: www.hawkeyebuffalo.com . |
| Web Resources |
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Talk to a Farmer in Your Classroom!!
In a world full of computers it is now getting easier for students to track where their food is coming from. Through the use of bar codes and the Internet, classes can now meet the farmer who grew the grain, chocolate or bananas they eat. The following are a few of the products that are now using this technology.
The Stone Buhr Flour Company is a 100 year old company that sells their wheat flour to stores such as Walmart. Using the lot code printed on the side of the bag students can visit with the companies farmers and can ask them questions!
Dole is also connecting customers with their growers. Students can buy organic bananas and then use the bar code on the sticker to see photos of the plantation where the banana was grown!
Askinosie Chocolate out of Springfield, Missouri is spreading the word about their specialty chocolates by introducing consumers to their cocoa bean farms in Mexico.
What a great way to talk about the food web in a classroom or introduce world geography! The possibilities are endless! |
| Seed Savers Exchange |
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 Discover Seed Savers Exchange Heritage Farm and teach students the importance of biodiversity and securing their food future. Seed Savers Exchange permanently maintains 25,000 vegetable varieties and is the largest non-governmental seed bank in the United States making seeds available to the public.
Hiking trails found throughout the property guide visitors through gardens, cold-water trout streams and limestone cliffs. Some of the activities to choose from at the farm include:
-Taking a guided hike to the Historic Orchard -Learning how preservation gardens grow seeds in order to replenish seed collections -Discovering heritage poultry and a herd of Ancient White Park Cattle -Collecting and preserving seeds ALL ACTIVITIES ARE FREE! For more information or to schedule a visit email shirleyv@seedsavers.org of visit www.seedsavers.org. |
| ICN Courses Available |
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Be sure to sign up for these Fall ICN sessions. Visit www.k12connections.iptv.org to register.
Iowa: Land of the Tallgrass Prairie
September 24th
Grades 4-6
ISU Extension, 4-H Youth Development
Harvest Celebration
October 19th
Grades k-2
ISU Extension, 4-H Youth Development
Make sure to look for more ICN sessions as the school year progresses.
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Protest
Now as imperceptibly
As evening closing into night,
As a young heart growing old
Is the wheatfield's sturdy green
Shading into harvest gold.
The beauty of the color is
Not the thing which I protest,
Gold is good when green is done -
But a summer in the sheaves
Marks a season gone.
James Hearst, 1951
An Iowa poet, James Hearst lived and worked in Cedar Falls. Much of his poetry centers on farming and the beautry of the Iowa landscape. For more information visit the Hearst Center for the Arts. |
 Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area is one of 49 federally designated heritage areas in the nation and is an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service. Through the network of sites, programs and events, the Heritage Area's mission is to interpret farm life, agribusiness and rural communities - past and present. |
