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Ohio State professor teaches dairy to Minnesota youth

A professor at Ohio State University spent time in the Upper Midwest this week teaching young people about dairy.

Dr. Bob Horton has been a part of the University of Minnesota’s Gopher Dairy Camp the past 10 years.

“It’s an opportunity to really help our campers understand the science of dairy foods.  And not just eating (the dairy foods) and understanding what’s in them, but really the mechanics of how they’re made and the important role of proteins.”

The camp is for sixth through ninth graders who have an interest in dairy.

Horton tells Brownfield he likes to keep things fun for the students, but at the same time cover the basics.

“Our best science educators in the country say to give (students) small doses; introduce those terms like coagulation (and) cell walls.  To introduce it in a way that it’s contextual, and they say ‘oh yes, I’ve tasted it, I’ve felt it, I smelled it.’  And it will stay with them.”

Horton says the content hasn’t changed a lot in his ten years at Gopher Dairy Camp, and it continues to be important to educate young people about how food is made.