In light of today’s economy, many schools and teachers have taken to providing field trips via avenues other than leaving the schools’ physical campus. As such the Red Barn Farm Tour recently visited John L. Ory Magnet School. Each class at the school visited the farm for approximately 40 to 50 minutes on one of two days that the farm was on the JLO campus.

This traveling educational farm is designed to help teach students about animals and the lives they lead on a working farm. This “on-site” field trip provided students with a real-life farm animal experience.

Having the Red Barn at the school helps to eliminate difficulties such as escalating fuel costs, bus reservations and costs, insurance liabilities away from the school grounds and extended time away from the classroom. The children got the enjoyment of being hands-on with several types of animals, like chicks, bunnies, ducklings, goats and a cow, got to view several live-animal exhibits and learned the part some of the farm animals have had on history.

Each teacher took his/her own class to the exhibit. This allowed the teacher to experience the exhibit with the students so that the learning could be extended into the classroom in writing and the content areas. Teri Noel, JLO principal said, “I want the teachers to take every opportunity to engage students in learning that is related to the experience that the farm brings, especially by providing the students the opportunity to write about the experience.”

“Farmer Russell” (Russell Roy) parked his mobile barn on the front lawn of JLO the evening prior to the event. In keeping with the farm’s slogan, “From Our Farm, To Your Door,” Roy provided JLO students a real life farm-animal experience that most students might never experience.