Dozens of schoolteachers from across Maryland will converge on Carroll County this week for a little education of their own.

They will tour an orchard and a lumber mill, meet farm animals, arrange ivy topiaries and learn how to sow lessons of soybeans and grain in their curricula as part of the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation's 13th annual Ag in the Classroom summer workshop.

The five-day seminar, held at the Best Western Conference Center near Western Maryland College, is designed to get agriculture out of the fields and barns and into classrooms. Fifty-three elementary school teachers will pay $100 each for lodging, meals, fieldtrips, supplies and classes.

"As we have moved further and further from the farm and closer to the city, fewer people have the experience of being on a farm and seeing where food comes from," said Marty Stephens, executive director of the foundation. "Too many people think food comes from the grocery store. Obviously, it doesn't, so we're trying to give people that experience and window into farm life."

A division of the Maryland Department of Agriculture, the Havre de Grace-based foundation is dedicated to teaching the public about agriculture. The workshop's presenters include agriculture industry representatives; elementary, agri-science and technology teachers; county extension educators; and previous workshop participants, according to the foundation's Web site.

In past years, teachers have learned how to make crayons from soybeans, spin and dye wool and make scarecrows. They have heard ways to teach the history and geography of Maryland by discussing soybean and corn crops that historically have been grown throughout the state at different times in history. They have learned to teach pupils about circumference by measuring pumpkins, and to improve children's motor skills by having pupils make corsages.

This year's schedule includes trips to Bauhger's Orchard and Bakery near Westminster and Edrich Lumber Inc. off Old Court Road in Baltimore County. They'll have sessions on taste-bud tests, plant pigments, and health properties and different breeds of cattle. They'll tour Carroll County Farm Museum, see farm animals raised by Carroll County 4-H Club members and have a picnic at the museum.

By the end of the week, participants will earn three of the in-service training credits they need from the Maryland State Department of Education toward advancing or maintaining their teaching certificates; receive ready-to-use lesson plans and support materials; and have demonstration models and sample projects to take home that correlate with state education curriculum guidelines, according to the foundation's Web site.

Stephens said she hopes the foundation will be able to offer workshops with middle- and high-school curricula by September next year.