Fact Sheet
717 E. 17th Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43211
www.ohiostatefair.com
Agriculture is Cool – 2011 program facts
Photos and logo available upon request.
Purpose
The “Agriculture is Cool” program seeks to help advocate knowledge of
Ohio’s agricultural industry among students to foster long-term interest in
agriculture. The Ohio State Fair teamed up with the Ohio Department of
Agriculture, Ohio’s commodity groups, and the Ohio Farm Bureau
Federation to create and implement the inaugural program in 2011.
Interactive stations
As participants traveled throughout the Fair, they were able to learn
firsthand how Ohio's agriculture affects their daily lives with educational
activities at interactive exhibits presented by Ohio’s commodity groups and
state departments and agencies. These exhibits were labeled on all Ohio
State Fair maps distributed at guest services booths and posted ongrounds.
ODA Tent
Students and visitors could hop on a JD Equipment John Deere tractor
simulator to try their skills at riding a tractor, milk imitation cows, look at
germs and interesting items through a microscope, compare their weight to
that of livestock animals on a giant scale, play computer games and do fun
experiments.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich takes a
ride on the tractor simulator
Dairy
Visitors learned about modern dairy farming and how
dairy farmers take excellent care of their cows to produce
safe and wholesome milk. Students could view the
milking parlor to learn about milking cows see how
technologically innovative the milking procedure has
become and compares to milking a cow by hand.
Veterinary Education Center (Wick Pavilion)
Students were able to milk a real cow with the help of a
veterinary student. Visitors could also see farm animals
being born and new babies interacting with their mothers
and have the opportunity to watch videos about livestock
care and immunizations.
A veterinary student teaches a young girl how to milk
Beef (Voinovich Livestock & Trade Center)
a cow at the Veterinary Education Center
Cattle provide us with a very nutritious food – beef. In
addition, cattle make other significant contributions to our
lives. At this station, visitors could learn about all the ways cattle make our lives better with an interactive
touch-screen kiosk that will go through a quick program that will explain beef can be used not only as a
nutritious food, but in recycling, household products and more.
Poultry (Rabbit & Poultry Pavilion)
Learn about meat, fancy and egg birds. Students could see different breeds of chicken and turkeys and have
the opportunity to take a quiz on a large light-up game show style board to show what they learned.
Sheep and Wool (Brown Building)
People who visit the educational breed exhibit could learn about the
various sheep breeds from sheep farmers themselves. In addition,
students were able to visit the Weaver’s Guild and where they helped
spin wool into yarn and compared how long it takes to spinning wool by
hand to the modern methods for cleaning and spinning wool.
Pork (O’Neill Building)
Students loved visiting the swine nursery where they could see piglets
and a sow. An interactive pork finishing barn lets children learn how
barns protect the sensitive skin of swine and shares facts about how
animals are cared for in the barn.
Land & Living Display (Ag & Hort Building)
How does agriculture impact your daily life? Visitors could see, hear
and feel the answers as they learned about soil and planted flowers,
played interactive games in the Agrium, climbed a 30-foot Corn
Climbing Wall, went for a pedal tractor Country Cruise (directed at
young children) and more.
A child climbs the 30-foot Giant
Corn Wall
Corn (Ag & Hort Building)
Fairgoers could walk through a real field of corn housed inside the
Ag & Hort Building and learn about corn production in Ohio and
the uses of corn throughout their journey.
Soy (Ag & Hort Building)
Visitors were able to see the diversity of soy products and the
ubelievable products (like paint and asphalt) soybeans are used
for in the state. In addition, samples of food containing soy, such
as SoyJoy bars, were available.
Scholarships for participants
Students who completed the program were eligible to enter a
scholarship competition by entering a one-page typed essay or
creative story. Entries, submitted electronically, were evaluated by a
panel of judges. Four $500 scholarships, funded by the Ohio State
Fair Youth Reserve Program, were awarded and presented in each
winner’s school along with a trophy and giant check. The 2011
winners included:
• Stanley “Stash” Apana (Northfield Village), Lee Eaton
Elementary
• Katie Meier (Kenton), Benjamin Logan Middle School
• Alexa Mier (Medina), at St. Mark Lutheran School
• Phillip Wible (Powell), St. Brigid of Kildare Catholic School
A family enjoys the pedal tractor
Country Cruise
Photos and winning essays are available at
www.agri.ohio.gov/agiscool.
Phillip Wible and his parents pose with his
Ag is Cool scholarship check at St. Brigid
of Kildare Catholic School.