(At left, a Kincaid student is excited about the special popcorn created at her school. Photo courtesy of Kincaid Elementary School, Anchorage, Alaska.)
The Fairbanks Experiment Farm was home to an experiment for Anchorage school children this summer. Kincaid Elementary School teacher Glenn Oliver asked SNRAS researchers to try growing a dwarf, multi-colored popcorn variety his classes have been growing in a school greenhouse.
“You can’t buy multi-colored dwarf popcorn anywhere but we have it,” Oliver said. He has about 40,000 seeds in storage and is working with the students to create a business plan to produce and sell the corn.
Oliver was curious to see how the corn would grow outside a greenhouse in the warmer Fairbanks summer so he asked SNRAS Research Professional Jeff Werner and Professor Meriam Karlsson to plant some seeds at the experiment farm. “We are seeking a more uniform plant,” Oliver said. “Eventually we want to plant fields of them.
“There’s a big hole in education related to plants in particular,” Oliver said. He has worked hard to remedy that for his extended learning students in second through sixth grade. When Kincaid School was built in 1996 the setting included lots of open space, woods, and a frog pond. Before the grounds were hydroseeded Oliver planted potatoes which the children loved digging up in the fall.
Next he and the students built forty planter boxes and a donor gave topsoil. The children planted more potatoes which Oliver said proved to be an “incredible success.” Carrots and turnips were the next crops they tried.
After receiving a grant for a greenhouse they were able to grow tomatoes and corn. “The corn would grow so tall it would bend sideways,” Oliver said. A big windstorm blew the greenhouse away in 2000, but a generous parent who understood the value of getting kids to grow things offered to pay for a new facility. Parents who were architects and contractors pitched in and soon the school had a state-of-the-art insulated, solar-powered greenhouse. “It all came together,” Oliver said.
Each summer the greenhouse is filled with popcorn, cucumbers, and tomatoes. The children grow vegetable starts and sunflowers that are sold in the spring to a nearby hardware store. “Snow can be halfway up the (outside) walls and our greenhouse is full of plants,” Oliver said.
Out on the grounds the students have an apple orchard. “In our best year we sold 7,500 apples,” Oliver said.
When Oliver received a gift of dwarf popcorn from Michigan his first thought was, “We should grow this.” They grew to about four feet tall and had nice little cobs. “The coolest thing was when we put them in the microwave,” Oliver said.
His next idea was coming up with a multi-colored corn so the students planted yellow corn on one side of the greenhouse and pink on the other. Later that summer they noticed the corn had indeed mixed. “We hadn’t done anything to make it happen,” Oliver said. “The next year it showed up in every shade of pink and red.”
As part of their studies the students pop and compare their corn with storebought brands. They measure and count the kernels. “It’s just a blast,” Oliver said. “The kids love it.”
Oliver intends to work with the children to create a business plan to package their products, design a logo, and sell the corn. He believes that by working with agriculture students learn math, science, weather, life cycles of plants, and much more. “Many of these students have never grown food that they ate. They are able to take home food and share with their families. They are learning to become responsible for themselves.”
Jeff Werner echoed that sentiment, “This is integrating science, technology, English, and math into agriculture." He has invited Sen. Lesil McGuire to visit the Kincaid classroom and work with the children on the project. "Something as simple as growing popcorn has taught these young people genetics, DNA, plant breeding, and other opportunities,” Werner said.
“Integrating agriculture into the classroom should be an everyday event to help set a better table for Alaskans.”
“You can’t buy multi-colored dwarf popcorn anywhere but we have it,” Oliver said. He has about 40,000 seeds in storage and is working with the students to create a business plan to produce and sell the corn.
Oliver was curious to see how the corn would grow outside a greenhouse in the warmer Fairbanks summer so he asked SNRAS Research Professional Jeff Werner and Professor Meriam Karlsson to plant some seeds at the experiment farm. “We are seeking a more uniform plant,” Oliver said. “Eventually we want to plant fields of them.
“There’s a big hole in education related to plants in particular,” Oliver said. He has worked hard to remedy that for his extended learning students in second through sixth grade. When Kincaid School was built in 1996 the setting included lots of open space, woods, and a frog pond. Before the grounds were hydroseeded Oliver planted potatoes which the children loved digging up in the fall.
Next he and the students built forty planter boxes and a donor gave topsoil. The children planted more potatoes which Oliver said proved to be an “incredible success.” Carrots and turnips were the next crops they tried.
After receiving a grant for a greenhouse they were able to grow tomatoes and corn. “The corn would grow so tall it would bend sideways,” Oliver said. A big windstorm blew the greenhouse away in 2000, but a generous parent who understood the value of getting kids to grow things offered to pay for a new facility. Parents who were architects and contractors pitched in and soon the school had a state-of-the-art insulated, solar-powered greenhouse. “It all came together,” Oliver said.
Each summer the greenhouse is filled with popcorn, cucumbers, and tomatoes. The children grow vegetable starts and sunflowers that are sold in the spring to a nearby hardware store. “Snow can be halfway up the (outside) walls and our greenhouse is full of plants,” Oliver said.
Out on the grounds the students have an apple orchard. “In our best year we sold 7,500 apples,” Oliver said.
When Oliver received a gift of dwarf popcorn from Michigan his first thought was, “We should grow this.” They grew to about four feet tall and had nice little cobs. “The coolest thing was when we put them in the microwave,” Oliver said.
His next idea was coming up with a multi-colored corn so the students planted yellow corn on one side of the greenhouse and pink on the other. Later that summer they noticed the corn had indeed mixed. “We hadn’t done anything to make it happen,” Oliver said. “The next year it showed up in every shade of pink and red.”
As part of their studies the students pop and compare their corn with storebought brands. They measure and count the kernels. “It’s just a blast,” Oliver said. “The kids love it.”
Oliver intends to work with the children to create a business plan to package their products, design a logo, and sell the corn. He believes that by working with agriculture students learn math, science, weather, life cycles of plants, and much more. “Many of these students have never grown food that they ate. They are able to take home food and share with their families. They are learning to become responsible for themselves.”
Jeff Werner echoed that sentiment, “This is integrating science, technology, English, and math into agriculture." He has invited Sen. Lesil McGuire to visit the Kincaid classroom and work with the children on the project. "Something as simple as growing popcorn has taught these young people genetics, DNA, plant breeding, and other opportunities,” Werner said.
“Integrating agriculture into the classroom should be an everyday event to help set a better table for Alaskans.”
Professor Meriam Karlsson and Research Professional Jeff Werner show the popcorn at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm. The kernels change color as the cobs dry out.
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