Students take part in Youth Science Agriculture Field Day

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) - Students from across Lincoln County took a field trip to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension and Research Center’s annual Youth Science Agriculture Field Day on Wednesday.

The day is geared to teach kids that there is more to agriculture than what most people think.

“Basically what we’re looking to do is teach them a little about agriculture,” Lloyd said. “Like things that are beyond the typical mindset of agriculture which is maybe sitting on a tractor all day or working cattle, there’s so much technology and innovative things that are going on in agriculture today, and we need to share that with the kids.”

While some of the activities were lecture based, others were hands-on.

In one activity, students were able to play with beetles and other insects. Other activities included interacting with livestock, and experiments about how germs travel.

David Lott, another educator at the Extension and Research Center, demonstrated how germs spread on crops.

“I’m using glow germ powder right now to illustrate how these bacteria and viruses can be found on produce,” Lott said, as he rolled the glow powder on produce. “We put this produce in a black light to show how it indicates where all the pathogens are present.”

After letting the students look at the vegetables under the black light, he had them pass it around to show how the powder would stick to them as well.