Wearing live pythons
New Ulm elementary students learn on the farm
Brent “The Zoo Man” Mielke drapes a snake over the shoulder of Jefferson elementary student Adeline Parker during Cottonwood County 4-H’s annual 4-H Fall Field Day visit last week. Submitted photo
LAMBERTON – Students from all three New Ulm elementary school learned about life on the farm during the Cottonwood County 4-H annual Fall Elementary Field Day hosted Sept. 8-11 in Lamberton.
University of Minnesota Southwest Research and Outreach Center near Lamberton provided the students with learning experience in electrical safety, ATV safety, plant growth, pollinators and the food supply. This included hands-on experiences such as a creating foam pizzas to teach food supply line and studying seeds to assemble soybeans “plant pals”. Some students tested their strength, seeing how many pounds they could lift out of a corn bin.
St. Anthony Elementary fourth-grade teacher Melissa Mack said her students enjoyed working on each of the different stations. She said the station on the plant cycle was popular because the students were able to take home a seed necklace. The electricity station was also popular because students had the chance to play with a Van de Graff generator, which created a static electricity field. It was a hair raising experience for a few of the students.
However, Mack said the favorite station were the snakes. Brent “Zoo Man” Mielke of Sleepy Eye attended the show with a few of his larger reptile friends. A few of the students were brave enough to wear live pythons.
Fall Elementary Field Day events were presented with through the support of the Cottonwood County Soil & Water Conservation District, Cottonwood County USDA-Farm Service Agency, South Central Electric, East River Coop, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Zoo Man, Farm Bureau and Cottonwood County 4-H.
St. Anthony fourth grader Genevieve Jumper using static electricity to make her hair stand up. Photo by Melissa Mack
The field day also utilized FFA members from Westbrook Walnut Grove, Redwood Valley, Wabasso and Red Rock Central high schools. The FFA students helped lead the farm safety lessons with representatives from Farm Bureau.
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- Brent “The Zoo Man” Mielke drapes a snake over the shoulder of Jefferson elementary student Adeline Parker during Cottonwood County 4-H’s annual 4-H Fall Field Day visit last week. Submitted photo
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- St. Anthony fourth grader Genevieve Jumper using static electricity to make her hair stand up. Photo by Melissa Mack
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- St. Anthony 4th graders Lydia Forstner and Lydia Nosbush get ingredients to create a foam pizza and calculate how many gallons of water go into making it. Photo by Melissa Mack
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- Brent “The Zoo Man” Mielke places a pythons on the head of St. Anthony 4th graders Ruby Peterson Photo by Melissa Mack
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- St. Anthony 4th grade teacher Melissa Mack experiments with the static electricity generator alongside her students. Submitted photo
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- Quinn Brunn of Jefferson Elementary studies seeds at Cottonwood County 4-H’s annual Fall Field Day visit earlier this month. Submitted photo
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- Emmett Platz pulling with all of his might to see how many pounds he could lift out of a corn bin. Photo by Melissa Mack
St. Anthony 4th graders Lydia Forstner and Lydia Nosbush get ingredients to create a foam pizza and calculate how many gallons of water go into making it. Photo by Melissa Mack
Brent “The Zoo Man” Mielke places a pythons on the head of St. Anthony 4th graders Ruby Peterson Photo by Melissa Mack
St. Anthony 4th grade teacher Melissa Mack experiments with the static electricity generator alongside her students. Submitted photo
Quinn Brunn of Jefferson Elementary studies seeds at Cottonwood County 4-H’s annual Fall Field Day visit earlier this month. Submitted photo
Emmett Platz pulling with all of his might to see how many pounds he could lift out of a corn bin. Photo by Melissa Mack
