Exhibits to Explore!

What is the ARS? The augmented reality sandbox (ARS) is a 3D, interactive, dynamic educational tool to help understand mapping, topography, watersheds, natural hazards, and human impact upon our environment. The ARS allows users to create topographic models by shaping real sand, which is then augmented in real time by an elevation color map, topographic contour lines, and simulated water. The system teaches geographical, geological, and hydrological concepts such as how to read a topography map and the meaning of contour lines, watersheds, and catchment areas.

Michigan Agriculture: Apples to Zucchini 

When it comes to the agriculture industry, Michigan is cultivating the ideal climate for both crops and business. With optimal weather conditions and a range of tools and resources, Michigan agribusinesses thrive and succeed. Home to 47,000 farms that utilize 10 million acres of farmland, our diverse growing conditions make us the number one producer of squash, cherries, cucumbers, and dried beans. In addition, Michigan offers access to a vast and efficient supply chain and logistics system, providing a cost-effective distribution throughout the Midwest, country and the world.

• Michigan’s agribusiness industry produces over 300 agriculture commodities annually.
• Michigan ranks as the #2 state for agricultural diversity in the nation.
• Michigan is home to more than 2,000 food processors generating more than $23 billion in economic activity in 2016.
• Michigan is the No. 1 producer of tart cherries (65% of total U.S. production), cucumbers, dry beans, squash and asparagus.
• Michigan ranks #6 in the nation and #1 in the Midwest for wine production.

Drive a Tractor!

Visitors of all ages will enjoy the excitement of the tractor simulator! Experience the thrill of virtual tractor driving and planting from the authentic cab of a John Deere 7290R. This simulator challenges participants to plant as much corn as possible within 90 seconds, with scores determined by the amount of field planted, all while utilizing modern GPS technology. Farmers employ technology for various tasks, including: accurately planting crops with GPS, monitoring soil conditions using sensors, analyzing aerial imagery from drones to spot crop health issues, managing irrigation systems with real-time data, tracking livestock health through activity monitors, and optimizing fertilizer application using precision agriculture methods. These efforts aim to boost yield, minimize resource waste, and enhance overall farm efficiency.

Visit Our Cow, Meadow

The History of Tillage & “John Deere, That’s Who!” 

The farmers of George Washington’s day had no better tools than had the farmers of Julius Caesar’s day; in fact, early Roman plows were superior to those in general use in America eighteen centuries later. By definition a plow (also spelled plough) is a farm tool with one or more heavy blades that breaks the soil and cut a furrow (small ditch) for sowing seeds. A moldboard is the wedge formed by the curved part of a steel plow blade that turns the furrow. John Deere learned that farmers were experiencing challenges with tilling the soil in Illinois the soil was heavy and sticky and covered with tall prairie grass. Breaking the prairie sod required a heavy plow powered by as many as eight yoke of oxen. Deere’s first plows used the saw blade steel for the share and smoothly ground wrought iron for the moldboard.  The plows sold for ten to twelve dollars each, which was a considerable purchase for a farmer of that day. In 1840 Deere produced forty plows; in 1841, seventy-five; in 1842, one hundred; and in 1843, four hundred.

Phosphate from Bones & Bonfire Dinners

This is the third exhibit featured in the IQhub! Phosphorus is an important nutrient for plants and it was discovered that you can find it in animal bones. In the United States, mass production of fertilizer came on the heels of the discovery that bones were rich in phosphate; a type of phosphorous integral to plant health.  Resourceful entrepreneurs opened the country’s first “bone mills” in the 1830s, and began processing the bones of animals such as large bison and cattle. The bones were steamed or boiled to remove by-products and then finely ground. The ground bones were sold and used to fertilize crops.  Eventually other forms of phosphates were developed, but people continued to grind bones to feed their laying hens. Today phosphate rock is mined around the world from lake bed soils that are rich in decomposed marine life.

Hopkin’s Patent

This is the second exhibit featured in the IQhub! Potassium is another important nutrient for plants and it was discovered from boiling wood ash. Potash has been used from the dawn of history in bleaching textiles, making glass, and in making soap. It was refined from the ashes of broadleaved trees and produced primarily in the forested areas of Europe, Russia and North America. In 1943, potash was discovered in Saskatchewan, Canada and in 1958 the Potash Company of America became the first Canadian potash producer with the commissioning of an underground potash mine at Patience Lake.   In 2013, a deposit of potash was discovered in Michigan and is expected to produce 1 million tons per year for at least 100 years.

Squanto’s Gift Exhibit 

Squanto was not only a farmer; he was also a negotiator.  Having perfected his negotiation skills during his travels to Spain, England and Newfoundland, it has been speculated that Squanto learned the concept of using dead fish for plant nutrition while working as a trade negotiator in Newfoundland.   Though Squanto returned to a village that had been decimated by the plague, he was known to employ his negotiation skills to help other Native American groups and settlers get along. There are several documented instances where Squanto negotiated truces and trades between Native Americans and the settlers of Plymouth Colony.