1. Sheryl Bennett David Gordon April Hall Barczewski Tom Hutson Kristen Wilson

2. LettuceBag CornCan EggsCarton

3.  Maryland is known as “American in Miniature”  Agriculture is the #1 industry in the state  Maryland’s population mass is largely located in Urban and Suburban  Agriculture education is not heavily utilized in MD schools

4.  Agriculture education program for middle school youth  Learning kit that includes:  Experiential lesson plans  Career Exploration  Supplies needed to conduct lessons  Evaluation tools  Utilized in ANY setting by ANYONE

5. 1. Increase the awareness and appreciation of MD agriculture in the areas of production agriculture, health, and environmental issues. 2. Increase the amount of youth pursuing post secondary degrees and careers in agriculture and science related fields. 3. Partner with other stakeholders in an effort to integrate this program into MD schools.

6. DateAction Spring 2010Applied and received NIFA grant Summer 2010Met with Maryland Department of Education STEM and career tech coordinators. Fall 2010Curriculum development and review Winter 2011AGsploration Winter Institute Spring 2011Pilot curriculum Summer 2011AGsploration Science Career Institute* Fall 2011Finalize curriculum and learning kit construction* Spring/Summer 2012Teacher Trainings* *Continuing to look for additional funding

8.  The Kit  The Curriculum

9. 1. Animal Digestion 2. Buy Close to Home, Purchase Locally Grown 3. Conservation Choices: How Farmers and Developers Protect the Bay 4. Do You Get My (Non) Point? Modeling Pollution in a Watershed 5. Food, Fiber, and More from Animals 6. Food for Thought: Agriculture in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

10. 7. Grains: The Whole Story 8. It’s Just Dirt 9. Persistent Pests 10. Send in the Sun: A Look at Photosynthesis 11. What’s In Your Genes? 12. Who Lives Here? Species of the Bay Region & Watershed 13. Wild & Wooly

11.  Three 2 day overnight events for ~200 middle school youth  Recruitment through County Extension Offices, MD State Department of Education, newspapers, commodity groups, etc…  Dates  June 27 & 28  Frederick County 4-H Camp in Frederick, MD  June 29 & 30  Patuxent River 4-H Center in Upper Marlboro, MD  July 14 & 15  Thendara 4-H Camp in Hurlock, MD

12.  Participants will have the chance to:  Participate in hands on activities utilizing curriculum  Network with guest speakers  Tour and visit local Agriculture Enterprises  Learn about potential educational and career opportunities in the Agriculture Science fields  Participants will be evaluated via pre/post tests and a 12 month follow up survey

13. ITEMTOTAL Registration Fee ($30/participant w/ 200 participants)$6,000 MD 4-H Foundation Mini Grant (applying for in April 2011)$5,000 MD Grain Producers Grant$4,300 Event Sponsorships$7,000 TOTAL BUDGET$22,300

14. ITEMTOTAL Meals & Lodging$1,000 AGsploration Team Travel (Includes mileage, lodging, and meals) $2,500 Nurse ($125/day for 6 days)$750 Supplies$750 TOTAL BUDGET$5,000

15. Sheryl Bennett – sherylb@umd.edusherylb@umd.edu David Gordon – dgordon3@umd.edudgordon3@umd.edu April Hall Barczewski – adhall@umd.eduadhall@umd.edu Tom Hutson – thutson@umd.eduthutson@umd.edu Kristen Wilson – kswilson@umd.edukswilson@umd.edu