Visitors to this year’s farm show can play detective at various stations providing information and hands-on lessons.
“Investigating about the roles of bees in food production, measuring the height of horses or learning how sap becomes maple syrup,” said Logan Hall, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture spokesman.
The Farm Show Detectives program has run in previous years, this year 29 stations will feature some new stops including a Penn State exhibit exploring how agriculture impacts the daily lives of Pennsylvanians, dog safety and an exhibit to learn about parts of the tractor alongside a tractor amusement right.
“This program is a great way to teach the young visitors, as well as their parents, guardians and teachers, about Pennsylvania agriculture,” said Logan Hall, spokesman for the Department of Agriculture. “It’s a fun way that children can learn where their food comes from when visiting the show with their families and school groups.”
Visitors can participate in as many or as little learning stations as they want, but those who visit at least 15 are eligible to win a grand prize – one year of free ice cream from Turkey Hill.
The eight-day farm show runs January 10-17.
“This show is the largest indoor agricultural event in the nation,” said Hall. “It features nearly 6,000 animals, there’s 10,000 competitive exhibits that take place, 300 commercial exhibits, the entire Farm Show is a classroom.”
Agriculture is the state’s largest industry, with an annual economic impact of about $67 million.
