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Do you think food, clothing, lumber and other products only come from a store? Come to AgMagic at the State Fair to see and learn where your food and fiber really come from. Visitors will enter the world of agriculture and follow a path that leads to knowledge in wildlife, crops, livestock, nutrition and 4-H.
AgMagic is open to the public for self-guided tours Oct. 27 to Nov. 13. Guided tours for school groups (third- through sixth-graders) will take place Nov. 9-11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“The AgMagic experience will be an interactive, visually stimulating environment that will link food and fiber products we use every day to the forests, field crops and livestock produced by Louisiana farmers, ranchers and forest landowners,” said Gwen Fontenot, LSU AgCenter agent in Natchitoches Parish.
Featured crops will be displayed in various stages of development and the importance of interaction between agriculture, the environment and society at large will be highlighted, she said.
The animal area will focus on livestock and poultry production. “We will relate to the kids that our food is coming from a farm before it gets to the grocery store,” said Gary Stockton, LSU AgCenter agent in Lincoln Parish.
Hands-on activities will give opportunities for the kids to learn what products besides meat come from livestock.
An incubator full of eggs will start hatching on Nov. 9, Stockton said.
This year’s special guest will be Elsie the Cow. The animal area will also have a mascot with them during the school tour day--a 6-foot white chicken.
The row crop section will focus on the main row crops produced in Northwest Louisiana, those being corn, cotton and soybeans, said Josh Salley, LSU AgCenter agent in Red River Parish.
“There will be a cotton gin and someone will be demonstrating how to remove the seeds from the cotton through the use of the gin,” Salley said.
In the World of Wonder area, there will be information, exhibits and hands-on activities on forestry, wildlife, camping, fishing and other outdoor recreation. Classes for the school groups will be hands-on activities centered around forest products and fishing, said Ricky Kilpatrick, LSU AgCenter forester.
Bugs will come alive in the entomology area as youth learn about honey bees and how the product is made. Microscopes will be on hand, said Mike Hall, LSU AgCenter entomologist.
In the horticulture area, children will receive Growums, a planting medium in which seeds soak up water and grow, ready to be transplanted to a pot when the children take them home, said Michael Owen, assistant agent in Webster Parish.
Extension agents will provide an educational program centering around the “Germ Cave,” which is an interactive cave where children learn about the benefits of hand-washing to avoid the spread of germs and bacteria, said Joan Almond, LSU AgCenter agent in Webster Parish. The kids will be given Glo Potion, which is a hand cream that shows existing germs on your hands under black light.
Once they exit, the children will sanitize their hands before moving on to the next area.
There will also be a tabletop display for “My Plate,” which will highlight the new nutrition guidelines for Americans.
The Country Market featuring a variety of Louisiana products also returns.
The 4-H section will include a giant beach ball toss with 4-H related informational questions that youth will answer questions on whatever their right thumb lands on, said Elizabeth Lynn, LSU AgCenter assistant extension agent in Bienville Parish.
There will also be parachute games related to 4-H trivia, projects and opportunities.
Participants will roll the giant inflatable dice to get a magic number to reveal their 4-H fortune. There will be a potato sack hop along a track with stop signs and fun facts/information about 4-H along the trail and a state commodities map for youth to piece together the state by parishes. Each parish illustrates its top commodity.
The LSU AgCenter is one of 11 institutions of higher education in the Louisiana State University System. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, it provides educational services in every parish and conducts research that contributes to the economic development of the state. The LSU AgCenter does not grant degrees nor benefit from tuition increases. The LSU AgCenter plays an integral role in supporting agricultural industries, enhancing the environment, and improving the quality of life through its 4-H youth, family and community programs.