The National Farmers’ Unions’s (NFU) ‘Farmvention’ competition, which aims to encourage primary school students to design and create their own food and farming products, is now officially open.
The competition is designed to inspire young students to explore key topics such as science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and apply them to the agriculture industry.
Schools can submit their applications for the chance of winning the grand prize of having their school turned into a farm for a day.
‘Farmvention’
The 50 school children and their teachers who took part in the pilot project will attend the launch of the competition at Birmingham’s ThinkTank Museum.
The young students will take on the challenge of creating their own tractor of the future and designing and preparing a seasonal snack to take home.
Officially opening this years competition will be NFU president Minette Batters, who believes that ‘Farmvention’ provides an opportunity to bring real-life farming situations into the classroom.
“Food and farming are inextricably linked to STEM subjects and the NFU’s competition offers a rare chance for children to put this learning into practice in a new and exciting way,” said Batters.
Batters highlights the vital role that the competition has in teaching children about where their food comes from.
“Farmvention is a fantastic opportunity to develop their education and problem-solving skills at the same time as learning about food production and the challenges farmers face every day,” she said.
Crowning the winner
Those who are lucky enough to make it to the final of the competition will be invited to present their designs at the House of Commons during British Science and Engineering Week.
The winner of this year’s ‘Farmvention’ will also be announced during the week.
