Preschool STEAM at Meyer Farm

On October 15th, the two Preschool STEAM programs of South Fayette Township Library enjoyed a field trip to Meyer Farm.  Harry Meyer was a long-time farmer in South Fayette Township.  He loved to share his knowledge of agriculture with neighbors and young people and regularly visited the schools.   Upon his passing, Harry entrusted Allegheny Land Trust to preserve his family farm and to create an outdoor classroom for families to learn more about nature and farming. 

The South Fayette Township Library’s Preschool STEAM program was happy to be invited to conduct a STEAM program outreach. The children used their senses to learn about trees and leaves as they explored this outdoor space. There was so much to see, hear, touch, and smell. Ms. Judy, the South Fayette Township Library STEM Programmer, provided activities which included both tree and leaf science, songs, a story and crafts. The children were able to examine the parts of a tree; including a cross section of a tree trunk (called a tree cookie), bark, pinecones, pine needles and various leaves.  They learned that each ring displayed on the cross section of the tree trunk represents 1 year of the tree’s life.  The children then designed a tree cookie with rings to represent their age!  They also had fun investigating leaves by observing the different sizes and shapes and created leaf art with leaf rubbings.