Hands-on education mixed with small group instruction on Wednesday at the Mooseheart Fieldhouse, the second of three days at the 23rd annual Ag Days, sponsored by the Kane County Farm Bureau.

        Among the many groups of students moving through the Fieldhouse -- more than 2,200 in three days -- was one from the Richmond School in St. Charles, which was accompanied by teacher Peter Van der Bleek.

        "Kane County is still a county with quite a bit of farming in it and it has some of the richest farm land in the country," Van der Bleek said. "I live in DeKalb and I love to see the changes in the fields through the year."

         Van der Bleek has been a teacher at Richmond School for nine years and his class has attended Ag Days each of those years. A native of Fulton, IL, which is between Galena and the Quad Cities, he said he appreciates the opportunity the day offers his students.

         "This is probably the only opportunity for my kids to get up close to farm animals," Van der Bleek said. "When I was a kid in a rural, farming area, everybody got a chance to go out to the farm. Everybody had friends who lived on a farm."

         The groups discussing agriculture in Kane County varied from area 4-H members to local farmers.

         "We talk about how everything's inter-related in the environment," Van der Bleek said. "There's usually someone from Water Conservation here, and they go through the water cycle, which is one of our science units. This is a nice preview for that."

          One of those farmers attending was Judy Klein, who has been coming to Ag Days for each of its 23 years. She and her family have a farm in Burlington and also own a pair of markets in the Elgin area.

          "We're happy to be able to talk to the kids because there's so many that don't really know about agriculture that well," Klein said. "Maybe it's an opportunity for them to want to have a garden of their own or try to eat a little more healthy."

          Klein said the Mooseheart Fieldhouse provides a perfect setting for her presentation, which focused on how food like vegetables is first grown on a farm and is then harvested before it ends on someone's plate.
That view was backed up by Suzi Myers, Ag Literacy Coordinator for the Kane County Farm Bureau.

         "Everything is set up and the people helping us know what to do," Myers said. "It is clean. Mooseheart gives us the animals. The facility is perfect for this. We have room for the machinery outside and the animals inside and for all the kids."

         Myers once taught fourth grade herself and said the opportunity to educate 2,200 students in three days is one she looks forward to every year.

        "It's a way we can get the kids introduced to each different commodity and to teach them how agriculture touches their lives," Myers said. "My goal is for the children to know that their food does not come from a grocery store. There is a path to that grocery store. For a lot of children, we provide the first chance to see animals or touch them or to talk to FFA (Future Farmers of America) kids from Kaneland who are here."

Students from Richmond School in St. Charles, IL touch a goat from the Mooseheart Petting Zoo at the 23rd annual Ag Days, March 6-8.

A miniature horse is one of the Mooseheart Petting Zoo animals students can become acquainted with during Ag Days at the Mooseheart Fieldhouse. In its 23rd year, Ag Days was conducted over three days, March 6-8. These students are from Richmond School in St. Charles, IL.

Judy Klein talks about the way in which vegetables are grown to a group of students during the 23 rd annual Ag Days, sponsored by the Kane County (IL) Farm Bureau and hosted by Mooseheart Child City & School. Ag Days brought 2,200 students from all over Kane County to the Mooseheart Fieldhouse, March 6-8.