Hundreds of Iowa students will continue to get hands-on opportunities to bone up on agricultural knowledge thanks to the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation.
One of the group’s efforts — a 36-foot interactive agriculture mobile classroom — began rolling through Iowa schools in February.
The Nutrien Seed Survivor Mobile Classroom is a free, curriculum-based learning experience teaching elementary students about plant science and agriculture’s importance through interactive activities. In total, the mobile classroom will visit 45 schools in 12 Iowa counties this year.
“Agriculture provides real-
world context for science and other core subjects students are learning in the classroom,” said Kelly Foss, Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation executive director.
“When students step inside the Seed Survivor classroom, science comes to life. They see how Iowa agriculture impacts their daily lives while building curiosity about plant science and future careers.”
Students explore multi-media and virtual reality games, a sunflower seed planting station, talking walls and more. They spend half the presentation outside the trailer in a guided plant nutrient lesson and the other half playing on stations inside.
“We get positive reactions from teachers. Kids light up when they see this colorful mobile classroom and see they get to learn something exciting and new that day,” Foss said.
In 2026, Iowa, California and Tennessee are the three states picked to host the mobile classroom. Each year, the program engages nearly 100,000 students across North America, including visits to Canada.
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