Packaging and transport
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- Appropriate grades
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- American Association for the Advancement of Science
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The purpose of this lesson is to familiarize students with the special packaging and transport that many foods require to stay fresh during their journey from the farm to people’s dinner tables. This is the second of a two-part unit on how machines help people grow, package, transport, and store food. The class reads a story about the transformation that harvested wheat takes before it becomes the bread Americans consume. Students learn about the kinds of materials and machines that are involved in transporting, processing, packaging, and distributing wheat and wheat flour in their long journey from the farm to dining room tables. They learn that machines and other technologies are involved in almost every phase of this journey, making crop and food production faster and easier and within reach of more people worldwide. The teacher reads What Was It Before It Was Bread? by Jane Belk Moncure to help illustrate what happens when wheat is harvested, transported, milled, distributed, and, in this case, baked into bread at a bakery before it is bought and consumed. Then students discuss the use of machines in this process and then extend this knowledge to other foods. Next, students are divided into groups of three and are challenged to come up with some new ways to package eggs so they stay safe and fresh during their long journey from the farm to people’s homes. Students discuss and create their egg containers and then present their design ideas and packaging challenges, compare those with other groups, and then test the durability of their holders by moving them around roughly or dropping them from a few inches above the ground. Science NetLinks provides an introduction to the lesson, detailed instructions for completing the activity, and links to similar lessons. This lesson also contains links to the Kids’ Farm Equipment page and the Inventor’s Toolbox.
