The school year has started already in Elk Grove, CA and the nearby historic Nicolaus Dairy is prepping for a plethora of programs, offered through Project AWE. Project AWE is a collaborative effort of Sacramento Splash, the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional San), Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD), and other community partners, offering educational opportunities in the areas of Agriculture, Water, Energy, and the Environment (AWE).
Project AWE will host field trips for 200 classes during this school year, serving about 5,500 students! Two different field trip options will be available depending on the grade level of the class that’s visiting. Students in 2nd and 3rd grade will rotate through several different stations that focus on pollination, seed dispersal, where our food comes from, and animal/plant life cycles. They’ll even get the latest buzz on honeybee social structure, while observing an active hive!
Students in 4th and 5th grade will get the full Nicolaus Dairy Experience on their field trip. In the museum, they will learn about the history of the farm, the Nicolaus family, and diary innovations over the last 100 years in California’s Central Valley. These students will experience life on a farm through several hand-on activity stations that include milking a life-size mechanical cow, which the students always find udderly delightful! They will get to work in the garden to either plant or harvest crops. In the old workshop, they’ll use historic tools to make new things out of old things. They will also get to use the old tools to make leather cow tag keychains with their initials on them!
The activities are all led by trained staff and volunteers. To accommodate so many classes this school year, we are currently looking to hire and train 6-8 more docents to lead these engaging activities! We’re seeking outgoing, enthusiastic, and engaging docents who have experience in agriculture, education, environment, and life sciences.
If you’d like to be part of the team and help provide these mooo-ving experiences for the kids, please contact Beth Bartkowski, Project AWE Program Manager: beth@sacsplash.org
We hope to hear from you soon!