Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Kids Can Farm for a Day at the Schuylkill County Fair

“Farming for a Day” is back and bigger than ever under a larger tent for this year’s 2017 Schuylkill County Fair.

The Farming for the Day is adding several new activity stations. In the tent this year there are ice cream samples for the kids, along with ice cream recipes to try at home. Adding to these two stations is the corn grinding station. Here, using more muscle, children may grind corn into cornmeal and wheat into flour. There are many hands on activities like the planting of seeds, participating in the tree of life and using your thumbprint in the blueberry patch. Sink your hands and arms into corn bins and soybean fun. View the drone bees in action making honey in the hive and try to pick out the queen bee. Back again at one of the activity stations children are able to squeeze a pail of sweet creamy milk. This is from the life size model milking cow presented by the Dunn Family in memory of Robert “Bobby” Dunn. Learning by doing at this activity station enable children to learn how much work is involved with milking dairy cows two – three times a day and that chocolate milk does not come from brown cows. Bobby Dunn, through his “heart of a kid and patience” as an ambassador of agriculture, would have like children to learn that it takes a lot of work to produce that cold refreshing glass of milk. From the milking station, kids can churn butter from sweet cream donated by Guers Dairy. Play a game of corn bag toss. Ride a pedal tractor in the hay bale oval. Enjoy farm life as a kid in the Farming for a Day tent with so much more to see, do and learn.

These new activity stations are just part of the many other activity stations found in the Farming for a Day tent. The successful hands on activity centers returning from last year include, but are not limited to picking apples, and gathering eggs from nesting boxes. Thank Tri-Valley FFA as children are able to dig up real potatoes growing in a sandbox garden and play in a corn filled or soybean (sand) box. Grind some wheat to make flour. Nearby stalks of corn with ears show children how corn is grown.

Stop by the Farming for a Day tent and learn about the life of a farmer. While you are in the tent, say a big thank you to the Tri-Valley FFA and the Dunn Family for making the Farming for the Day possible. It is their commitment to Agriculture and a strong work ethic shown by both the Dunn Family and Tri-Valley FFA. The children are our future and Agriculture is what makes that future strong.

For more information about the Schuylkill County Fair visit the fair’s web site at www.schuylkillfair.com. Schuylkill County Fair is where the country scene make blue ribbon dreams come true.