# Bag of Wonder: The Farmer > Follow one little corn seed with Farmer June and her granddaughter Suhayla, from her hand in spring to a harvest meal, then take a little tractor apart. Thank you, farmer! A free interactive 3D exhibit for children aged 2 to 6, from Curiosity's Child in Troy, Michigan. - Interactive exhibit: https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/farmer/ - Ages: 2 to 6. The story is pitched at the youngest; the tap cards give older children more to chew on. - Cost: free, with no sign-in, no ads and no tracking. - Works on: phones, tablets and computers, in a web browser. Sound on for the narration. ## What it is Follow one corn seed with Farmer June: planted, rained on, grown tall, harvested, then on the table. Pull a little tractor apart. Free, narrated, ages 2 to 6. How to play: press play to hear the story (read aloud in Kelly's voice, with the words on screen). Slide the time slider back and forth to see any part again. Slide "Pull apart" to see what is hidden inside. Tap any glowing button for a fact. ## The story 1. This is Farmer June. On her farm in Michigan, she grows corn. This is the story of one little seed. 2. In spring, Farmer June presses the seed into the soft soil. Then she pats it flat, like tucking it in to sleep. 3. Rain falls, and the seed drinks it up. Sunshine warms the soil. Down go little roots, and up pushes a green shoot! 4. Summer! The sun shines, and the corn grows tall, tall, tall. Farmer June's granddaughter, Suhayla, comes to visit. 5. Look at Suhayla! She curls up small like a seed, then grows, and grows, as tall as the corn. Now you try, poppets: crouch down small like a seed. Then grow, and grow, as tall as the corn! 6. Farmer June peels back the husk. Look! A cob, with rows of golden kernels. Every kernel is a seed, like the one she planted! 7. Autumn is harvest time! Chug, chug, chug, here comes the tractor, pulling its wagon of golden corn. 8. Off goes the corn! Some rides on a big truck. Some rides on a long train, chuff, chuff, chuff! Then it arrives at the shops. 9. Dinner at Farmer June's table! Crunch! Suhayla bites her corn on the cob, and Grandma June laughs. Warm cornbread, too! 10. Thank you, Farmer June! Thank you, rain and sunshine! Now you try, poppets: hands on your heart. Think of one thing you are thankful for, and say it out loud! 11. Look, poppets: Farmer June's harvest on our table! A little tractor, a stalk of corn, a loaf of bread and a basket, with Farmer June and Suhayla. ## The parts, and what we tell children These are the tap cards, word for word. - **Engine and hood**: Under the hood is the engine. It makes the power that turns the wheels and lets the tractor pull heavy loads. - **Back wheels**: The big back wheels push the tractor along. Their deep, chunky treads grip the soft ground, so the tractor does not slip in the mud. - **Front wheels**: The smaller front wheels steer. Turn the steering wheel, and they turn too, so the tractor goes where the farmer points it. - **Cab roof**: The roof keeps the hot sun and the rain off the farmer, so she can work all day. - **Seat**: The farmer sits here to drive. Her feet reach the pedals, and her hands hold the steering wheel. - **Steering wheel**: Turn it left, and the tractor goes left. Turn it right, and the tractor goes right. - **Front weights**: The heavy blocks on the front balance the tractor, so its nose stays down when it pulls a heavy load. - **Exhaust pipe**: The tall pipe lets the engine's hot smoke out up high, away from the farmer's face. - **Corn**: A corn plant can grow taller than a grown-up, and it takes about three months to grow. Under the green husk, every golden kernel on the cob is a seed. Squirrels bury kernels too, and forget some, so corn sometimes sprouts where nobody planted it! - **Bread**: Bread is made from flour, and flour is made by grinding seeds. Wheat seeds make flour for loaves, and dried corn kernels make cornmeal, for cornbread. Farmers grow both, here in Michigan. - **Basket**: Farmer June fills a woven basket with ears of corn. It is light, but strong, and it has a handle to hold. - **Farmer June**: Farmer June grows corn on her farm in Michigan, like many real Michigan farmers. Suhayla is her granddaughter. - **Suhayla**: Suhayla comes to visit Grandma June's farm. Her favourite job is eating corn on the cob! ## Getting the science right What we checked, and the myths we steer around: - The story follows ONE crop, one kernel of corn, from Farmer June's hand to her table: she plants it, rain and sunshine come, a green shoot pushes up, the corn grows tall, she peels back a husk to show the cob, the corn is harvested, goes by truck and train to the shops, and is eaten at her table. Farmer June, Suhayla (her granddaughter) and every scene are painted storybook pictures and clips; the names are story names. - A corn kernel is a seed: planted, it drinks water, a root grows down first and a green shoot pushes up (the sprout clip shows the kernel with its tiny roots and the shoot). Every kernel on a cob is a seed, which is why the husk stage says "like the one she planted". (Botanically a corn kernel is a fruit holding one seed; the page uses the plain word "seed" for a four-year-old.) - Growing time: sweet corn takes roughly 60 to 100 days from planting to harvest, so the Corn card says about three months (MSU Extension, Sweet Corn). A corn plant can grow taller than a grown-up. The story shows one autumn harvest for simplicity: in real life sweet corn (corn on the cob) is picked in late summer, and field corn (for cornmeal and animal feed) is harvested in autumn. Michigan grows both. - Corn is pollinated by the wind, not by bees. The story does not mention pollination, so the story keeps to one crop. - Cornbread is made from cornmeal, which is dried corn kernels ground up; wheat flour makes a loaf of bread. The Bread card says both, and that Michigan farmers grow both (USDA NASS Michigan). - Squirrels: the Corn card says squirrels bury kernels and forget some, so corn sometimes sprouts where nobody planted it. Squirrels do bury seeds and nuts to eat later and forget some, and gardeners often see it. No story line says it, because no picture shows it. - Food travels by truck and train to the shops. The truck's cargo is painted as golden corn in crates (Kelly's Grok clip), so it reads as crates of corn, not as individual ears. - The two "Now you try" moments are safe and prop-free: crouch down small like a seed and grow up tall (stage 5); put your hands on your heart, think of one thing you are thankful for and say it out loud (stage 10, while the painted Farmer June and Suhayla do the same and then hug). Nothing in the story is about the Thanksgiving holiday: that is Harvest Week's. - The display table is a toy set: the tractor, the corn, Farmer June and Suhayla are drawn at one scale (about one to seven), true to each other; the loaf and the basket are drawn bigger so small fingers can find them. The tractor is a real 3D model (a scan-based farm tractor by selfie 3D scan, CC BY) cut into its parts on the page; the corn plant, loaf and basket are also CC BY models. The table is a real scan from Poly Haven (CC0). ## How to use it with children Watch the whole story with the sound on. At the corn, crouch down small like a seed and grow up tall; at the end, put your hands on your heart and say what you are thankful for. Then pull the tractor apart and find the engine, the wheels, the seat and the steering wheel. Ask more than you tell, and let the child drive. Then step away from the screen: soak a few dried corn kernels sold for planting (from a garden shop, not microwave popcorn) overnight, then tuck them in a damp paper towel in a clear bag on a sunny window and watch the root come first and then the shoot. De-husk an ear of corn together and count the rows of kernels: every kernel is a seed. Say thank you to whoever grew or made your next meal. A few minutes together is plenty. The exhibit is a doorway to the real thing, not a replacement for it. ## Credits and licenses The real scans, maps and photographs belong to their makers, under the licenses below. The words, story and code are Curiosity's Child's. - The tractor: [a tractor by selfie 3D scan](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/tractor-1b258bcc01bf4ed0935ef73e80442c30) (CC BY), cut into its parts for this page - [the corn plant by gilles.schaeck](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/maize-corn-plant-5fd3b104d8104519b061469c365d4974) (CC BY) - [the loaf of bread by Igrodev CG](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/game-ready-free-bread-loaf-daf4801f72ae4f9eba9c338afbbb2926) (CC BY) - [the basket by Lauren Herda](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/basket-a0b900d9de78485bad2534a88e2c19c4) (CC BY) - The farm, Farmer June, Suhayla and every painted scene are watercolour paintings and clips Kelly made for this page with Grok - The display table is a real scan from Poly Haven ([side table](https://polyhaven.com/a/side_table_01); CC0) - Real sounds from Freesound ([CC0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/), thank you!): [song sparrows in a summer backyard](https://freesound.org/s/818450/) (kvgarlic) and [a summer meadow with wind](https://freesound.org/s/639459/) (Garuda1982) - Music-box tune made for Bag of Wonder - Narrated by Ms Daisy ## More on the Community Helpers shelf - [The Firefighter](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/firefighter/index.md): Meet Aaron, a kind firefighter. Put on his gear, ride the fire truck, rescue a kitten and learn stop, drop and roll. - [The Police Officer](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/police/index.md): Meet Officer Bruce, a kind police officer. See his police car, cross the road safely, help find a lost teddy and learn what to do if you are lost. - [The Ambulance](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/ambulance/index.md): Meet Amber, a kind paramedic. See her ambulance, help Jake after a tumble in the park, listen to a heartbeat and learn when to call 9-1-1. - [The Garbage Truck](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/garbage-truck/index.md): Meet Brayden and his big garbage truck: watch him tip a can into the scoop at the back, a blade squeeze the trash small, then recycling and compost. - [The Mail Carrier](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/mail-carrier/index.md): Follow Barbara, the mail carrier, from the post office to your door: a birthday card across the ocean, a parcel, a doorbell. Then spread the mail out on the table! ## About Bag of Wonder A free library of interactive 3D "look inside" science exhibits, made at Curiosity's Child, a licensed home daycare in Troy, Michigan. Secular and science-based; welcoming to all. - All exhibits and how we make them: https://bagofwonder.com/llms.txt - For grown-ups and AI assistants: https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/about/ - To cite: "The Farmer", Bag of Wonder, Curiosity's Child (Troy, Michigan). https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/farmer/