Oregon AgFest

The Oregon AgFest was a delight!  They had an incubator where baby chicks were hatching right before our eyes, and some chicks that hatched yesterday were out for the kids to touch.  

Another unexpected delight was meeting Mr. Seely and his son Warren, of Seely Family Farm.  The family grows 450 acres of mint, and distill peppermint oil.  And Warren makes working models of their farm equipment out of Legos.  The models are to scale and very beautiful.  And they aren't simply toys.  Warren, who is 17, is the family member who knows how each piece of equipment works and can make complicated repairs, and the models help him grasp how each part works together.  Homeschooling has given him the chance to pursue his interests.  I found a fascinating article about the family farm here (which made me realize I have to get myself some of their peppermint oil because it sounds astonishingly useful)  as well as two articles about Warren and his Lego models here and here.

This was definitely Jasper's favorite part of the AgFest and made the whole trip worthwhile.  I found meeting Warren and his father to be really inspirational.  

And then there was Bunnyzilla, as Jasper named this startlingly large rabbit!  I don't know how much of it was fur, but it appeared to be about six times the size of the other bunnies.  Jasper just couldn't believe his eyes.  He wanted to bring it home to see if it would terrify the cats.
I was excited to find the Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation, which has a lot to offer.  Here's their website http://aitc.oregonstate.edu/resources/index.htm If you click on "SAI Lesson Plans" there are some agriculture related science lesson plans for kids K-12, and if you click on "Activities" there are some really cool science projects.  

The Oregon AgFest is always the last weekend in April, in Salem at the State Fairgrounds.  http://www.oragfest.com/