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Interested in how a cotton gin works? Want to take a journey through a forest? Curious about the lives of bees and honey?
The State Fair, which began in Dallas' Fair Park on Sept. 30 and runs through Oct. 23, offers plenty of activities and events to choose from inside the Texas Department of Agriculture's Food and Fiber Pavilion.
The Texas Forestry Association presents Wood U, a walking journey through a man-made forest. The exhibit explores the many benefits of trees as well as the vibrant Texas horticulture industry. Participants can plant a seed as part of their tour and learn about the many uses of wood through games of concentration and skill.
Planet Ag, an exhibit sponsored by the Texas Farm Bureau, features a wind energy machine, an interactive nursery and greenhouse station and an interactive station for wildlife and corn. Learn from cotton ginning demonstrations, a wind turbine demonstration and a rainfall simulator demonstration. Enjoy DVD stations for beef, cotton, corn, wildlife and poultry as well as a calf roping station.
Honey from all over Texas will be on display as part of the exhibit from the Texas Beekeepers Association. There will be an observation hive accompanied by discussions about bees and the many properties of honey.
Another familiar sight, Borden Dairy, will be back at the Food and Fiber Pavilion selling milk in the Texas Monthly Mercantile. Visitors can meet Elsie the Cow. In addition, Borden will donate $10,000 to TDA's Urban School Grant program, which provides up to $2,500 each for elementary school agricultural demonstration projects in urban school districts of 49,000 students or more.
Revamped and revised to include dozens of new interactive, hands-on exhibits and unique events, the Pavilion is designed to bring the world of Texas agriculture under one roof.
The fair draws some 3.5 million visitors each year, and the Texas Department of Agriculture's Food and Fiber Pavilion hosts more than half of those visitors. People from across Texas visit the Pavilion to learn about rural Texas, nutrition and the many good things that come from agriculture.
