Harmony GEAR UP students recently traveled to Tuttle, OK, to tour the Braum’s Ice Cream Factory and Dairy Farm. Students were greeted by tour guide Anita Stephens who gave them a brief overview of the facility. They were treated to freshly baked Braum’s cookies and ice cream bars while viewing a video of the history of Braum’s and the factory’s operating process. After the presentation, students toured the ice cream factory where they watched the production and packaging of dairy products and learned about pasteurization and homogenization, which allows the milk to go from cow to shelf in 24 to 36 hours.
The final stop of the tour was the Braum’s bakery, where students viewed the making of cones, cookies, brownies, and bread. The factory can make 180 cookies per minute when in full operation and packages the products to be used in ice creams and stores. Braum’s stores must be located within a 300-mile radius of the farm to ensure product freshness.
The field trip was sponsored by Eastern Oklahoma State College’s GEAR UP program. Eastern received a $17 million federal GEAR UP grant in 2017, and will serve more than 3,000 students in 39 area schools for seven years.
