With the 4-H Virtual Farm, 4-H hopes to help kids "discover why farming is part of your life even if you've never lived on a farm, never seen crops grow in a field, or never touched a cow." Even though this Web site focuses, to an extent, on Virginia agriculture, the content should be applicable and interesting to any student. Six virtual farms are available (horse, aquaculture, beef, dairy,...

The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agriculture in the Classroom Web site(last mentioned in the October 27, 1999 Scout Report for Science & Engineering) has recently been updated. One of the current features, Listening to the Prairie - Farming in Nature's Image, is a useful resource which has many lesson plans and classroom activities for all grades and can be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat...

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) was formed in 1972 as a result of a meeting sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council. CAST's mission is to "assemble, interpret, and communicate credible science-based information regionally, nationally, and internationally to legislators, regulators, policymakers, the media, the private sector and the...

The Cornell Cooperative Extension program brings Cornell University's land-grant programs to citizens across the Empire State. This website is part of the Extension's rather impressive public outreach efforts. Clicking on the Program Areas tab allows visitors to learn about various thematic work on subjects like Agriculture and Food Systems and Community and Economic Vitality. Each of these areas...

This thoughtful collection of materials related to ethics and nutrition was created by the folks at the American Physiological Society (APS) in honor of National Nutrition Month. The items here include teacher-developed studies that explore ethical issues related to nutrition and agriculture. The topics explored include meat consumption and alternatives, population growth and resource depletion,...

This EconEdLink lesson plan from the National Council on Economic Education focuses on how George Washington Carver helped save agriculture in the South by creating a national demand for peanut products. While the discussion questions that accompany the lesson focus mainly on economic concepts, the lesson as a whole provides an excellent, interdisciplinary way to learn about nitrogen fixation and...

Learning about food science can be quite fun and engaging. These resources from the folks at the food science department at Pennsylvania State University are designed to be used in a range of classroom settings and are perfect for educators. Currently there are seven activities on the site, including "Catalysis Enzymes in Pineapple," "In a Jam and Out of Juice," and "Practical Fermentation: A...

This site is a bit "old-school" in the best way possible. Crafted by the subject experts at the Library of Congress, this guide profiles print resources for teachers seeking to plan, prepare, and execute science fair projects in biology, natural history, or other related fields. Visitors can look over the Subject Headings to get started and they can also look over topical areas that include...

This remarkable site was created by Professor Gerhard Leubner and his colleagues at the University of Freiburg in Germany. Here, visitors can take advantage of a veritable cornucopia of reference materials related to seed biology, such as diagrams and illustrations of seed germination, plant hormones, endosperm weakening, and seed dormancy. Neophytes may wish to start by looking at the Seed...

The Postharvest Technology Research and Information Center is housed in the Pomology Department at the University of California-Davis. Postharvest Center research focuses on improving the quality of horticultural crops, reducing post-harvest losses, improving marketing efficiency, and solving produce handling problems. This Publications website contains a wealth of downloadable articles organized...