For eight years, the family of Steve and Anna Lyles has partnered with New Mexico State University to give elementary students the opportunity to learn about agriculture through the Mesilla Valley Maze.

The maze, created in 1999, has a new theme every year that ties into an agricultural education program. A new curriculum is created to go with the theme that meets New Mexico and Texas education standards.

College of Education students enrolled in Prentice Baptiste’s science methods class at NMSU teach the children who visit the maze. Some teach in the Discover Garden, while others help in the Outdoor Classroom.

Whatever the lesson, the importance of agriculture is stressed.

“Out here, everything a child says is an opportunity to teach about agriculture,” says Anna Lyles.

Every year, the maze has a special design in correlation with the theme and curriculum, but randomly cutting a design out of a field of corn with a tractor can be tricky, so the Lyles family again looks to NMSU for help.

Under the tutelage of professors Steve Frank and Kurt Wurm, students in the Surveying Department in the College of Engineering use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to calculate ground coordinates and stake out the maze design based on a pencil sketch done by the Lyles family.

Because of this ongoing partnership, Maze Design has been added to the Surveying Department’s curriculum, and has become the centerpiece of the department’s high school recruitment program. Frank evens leads seminars tilted “The Use of GPS in Commercial Maze Design” at other universities.

The Lyles family also has partnered with the university’s Art Department in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students from a sculpture class were asked to make earth art on the maze grounds near the road. The sculptures were made entirely out of renewable resources.

“I like the way this project turned out,” Anna Lyles says. “People driving by on the road stop and ask me questions about the artwork.”

Since NMSU has given so much to them, the family decided to give back. The Mesilla Valley Maze funds a permanent, endowed scholarship for students in the Surveying Department.

Grants are also given to Las Cruces Public Schools. Teachers submit proposals explaining what they would like to teach pertaining to agriculture. Several grants are given each year. Last year, six were given.

The Lyles family has a tradition of being Aggies, too. Steve Lyles graduated in 1980 with a degree in Crop Science. Steve and Anna’s oldest daughter Katie graduated in 2005 and is now a math teacher while her husband, Chris Buhl, earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering in 2003 and his MBA in 2005. Another daughter, Amanda, is currently attending NMSU.