In November, Meyer Hatchery’s Customer Service team member Marie Nichols attended the GrowNextGen ChickQuest training seminar in Columbus, Ohio. Chick Quest is a third-grade classroom curriculum designed by educationprojects.org that gives teachers the tools to incorporate a life cycles unit into their instruction. The program engages students in a variety of hands-on activities, including the experience of incubating and hatching chicks right in the classroom!

The Ohio Soybean Council generously underwrites the expense for the teacher workshops that are held at various locations throughout the school year.  Teachers spend the day reviewing the 18 lessons that make up the classroom curriculum, participating in hands-on experiments, learning the details of how to set up their incubator, timing their hatch so that the students get to see the hatch, and how to brood the chicks and make a plan for follow-up care for the chicks. At the end of the workshop, teachers go home with their complete incubation setup that Meyer Hatchery and the Ohio Soybean Council partners together to provide at no cost to the teachers participating in Chick Quest.

ChickQuest launched in 2013 to bring modern agriculture to the classroom.  The program connects teachers with farmers and agriculture industry leaders to enable the next generation to learn, engage and explore future career opportunities in agriculture. It began in the Columbus, Ohio area, but is quickly expanding to other areas of the state as word spreads about the incredible learning opportunities in the classroom and beyond. If you are an elementary science teacher and would like to know more about the Chick Quest program, visit GrowNextGen’s events page.

Meyer Hatchery is very happy to partner with the Ohio Soybean Council to help with setting up a classroom participating in ChickQuest. The teachers receive the Hovabator incubator with an automatic turner, and also a gift certificate for 12 hatching eggs, as well as a small amount of chick feed for the first days. Teachers can choose when they want to incorporate the ChickQuest program into their classrooms and time the arrival of their hatching eggs to fit their schedule. A popular time is in early February so that the chicks arrive before the spring break. Orders can be placed in early winter for a spring shipping date, so we always recommend placing your order early for the best selection.

If you know a third grader, ask them if their class is participating in ChickQuest. And if you’re a teacher participating in Chick Quest and have questions, our Customer Service team is only a chat, email or phone call away!