Raising Nebraska offers programs for visiting classes of all ages, conducted by a full-time University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension professionals. These two-hour programs allow learners to experience Raising Nebraska while diving deeper into Nebraska agriculture through hands-on education.
The program fees start at $2.00 per participant.
Use the buttons below to find our offerings by grade range.
Pre-Kindergarten – 2nd Grade
Agriculture All Round Me
Agriculture is everywhere – not just in the fields. Participants will explore the AgriHouse to see and touch all of the different ways they see agriculture in their daily life.
Seed in a Bag
Participants will get to take home a “seed in a bag” after learning about the plant life cycle and what plants need to thrive.
Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli
Based on the book by the same name, this experience will help young learners understand the importance of fruits and vegetables in their diet. This experience also includes a read-aloud of the book and a snack based on the book.
Worms!
Participants will learn about wiggly-squiggly worms, but also the important role that worms play in soil health. This activity does use live worms.
To schedule a field trip with us, please complete our online form.
3rd Grade – 5th Grade
GPS Exploration
Participants will learn the basics of GPS and mapping skills. They will then and go on a treasure hunt using these mapping skills to find hidden treasure.
This national program, developed by Nebraska Extension, partners the Positive Youth Development model with life skill development and decision-making philosophy to instill in youth participants invaluable confidence and communication skills necessary to make responsible decisions and develop the internal strength to resist risky behaviors such as tobacco, alcohol, e-cigarette/vaping and drug use.
Geography of Nebraska
There are few other places where you can walk from one end of Nebraska to the other in a few seconds. Here at Raising Nebraska, we not only use our walkable map to help teach physical geography, we use our map to look at human settlement and environmental geography.
Overland Movers
This variation on Junkdrawer Robotics challenges learners to build a conveyance that will carry cargo down our walkable map. Sounds easy until you realize our map has topography, in addition to elevation. Western Nebraska’s geology challenges even the savviest builders to successfully move down the map. For 3rd-5th Grade, the objectives are to keep the mover together while carrying the load and to travel down the entire distance of the map.
Positively Popcorn
This tasty experience POPS! Literally. Nebraska is Number 1 in popcorn production. Learners will get to see, smell, and taste popcorn while learning about the science behind the pop – and why some corn does NOT pop.
To schedule a field trip with us, please complete our online form.
6th Grade – 8th Grade
Maps are Wrong?!
Every map is created for a purpose, but not every map can accurately answer the questions we have. Participants will learn about different map projections, plat maps, and road maps. They will then use these maps to solve questions about the world around them.
Make Your Pizza
Each participant will make their own pizza while learning where the ingredients come from. Vegetarian options are included. Should learners need gluten-free or vegan options, this will need to be specified at the time of making program reservations.
This national program, developed by Nebraska Extension, partners the Positive Youth Development model with life skill development and decision-making philosophy to instill in learners confidence and communication skills necessary to make responsible decisions and develop the internal strength to resist risky behaviors such as tobacco, alcohol, e-cigarette/vaping and drug use.
Overland Movers
This variation on Junkdrawer Robotics challenges learners to build a conveyance that will carry cargo down our walkable map. Sounds easy until you realize our map has topography, in addition to elevation. Western Nebraska’s geology challenges even the savviest builders to successfully move down the map. For 6th-8th Grade, the object is to keep the mover together while carrying the load and distance down the map while saving as much money as possible.
Agriculture is more than Farming
Yes! Agriculture IS more than Farming. Using the resources at Raising Nebraska, learners will explore careers in the agriculture sector. The careers covered in this experience include manufacturing, computer programming, engineering, marketing, and supply chain.
To schedule a field trip with us, please complete our online form.
9th Grade – 12th Grade
Mapping Change
Using ESRI data, participants will use historical data to look at modern communities and neighborhoods. Learners will then transition to their communities and decide where theoretical new businesses should or should not go based on mapping data.
Cookie Science
Who knew chemistry could taste so good – or so bad! Using the scientific method, learners will experiment with cookie ingredients and taste for themselves the successes or failures that can happen when ingredients are left out.
Overland Movers
This variation on Junkdrawer Robotics challenges learners to build a conveyance that will carry cargo down our walkable map. Sounds easy until you realize our map has topography, in addition to elevation. Western Nebraska’s geology challenges even the savviest builders to successfully move down the map. For 9th through 12th Grade, the objectives are to keep the mover together while carrying the load, keep an accurate project budget and cost of production records.
DIY Bioplastics
Using research and activities published in the Journal of Chemical Engineering, learners will make their own bioplastics. This is not your typical bioplastics lesson. We will be upcycling food waste products, like orange peels and coffee grounds, to make plastics. We will also be talking about the structure of polymers and sustainability in the plastics lifecycle.
Extension Connection
Raising Nebraska is a proud part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, through Nebraska Extension. We love connecting young people to the men and women who work with and for Extension. If you are interested in Manure Management, drones, hospitality, food science, youth education. Raising Nebraska has an Extension Connection for you!
To schedule a field trip with us, please complete our online form.
Homeschool Groups
Most of the programs listed above can be scaled up or scaled down in age. This allows all homeschoolers to cover the same topics, but on a level that is appropriate to their learning level.
Programs can be customized based on the needs of the learners and the educational objectives and outcomes.
To schedule a field trip with us, please complete our online form.
Special Education Classes
Raising Nebraska’s facilities are fully mobility accessible. Most topics listed above can be scaled up or scaled down to meet learners needs. Staff at Raising Nebraska want the experience here to be a positive one and may ask questions about the fine motor skills of participants and/or triggers (strobe lights, loud noises, smells) to insure that all can participate fully and in a meaningful way. Programs can be customized based on the needs of the learners and the educational objectives and outcomes.
Our cooking programs are customized based on season and group. These engaging programs help with occupational and physical therapy skills for learners.
To schedule a field trip with us, please complete our online form.
