Friday, September 3, 2010

"Farm Tech" Exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry

WELCOME...



Last week I had the opportunity to visit the "Farm Tech" exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. I hope that someday you will get a chance to see it too!

The place is HUGE! As you enter the exhibit you are greeted by a real-life tractor!


I had fun trying out the combine simulator. Inside the cab a recording of a local ag report was even on the radio! You'll see they've got some real corn plants that blend right into the GIANT screen.


This combine simulator is a real combine, it's just running really sssssllllllooooowwwwww....this way you can see how all the parts move and the corn is harvested. They also have video kiosk's surrounding each piece of equipment so you can learn more detail about how the machines work.


There are some FUN stops too! This life size cow photo op. was a big hit with the kiddos (and their parents who were snapping away)!



Even with all my ag. experience, I learned a lot. Throughout the exhibit there are "farm facts" along the walls. I was so happy to see that the exhibit really embraced and celebrated the innovations in agriculture that have helped us to have such a safe and abundant food supply!




I even found my self-portrait! This soybean farmer welcomed me into her kitchen....


Where I found chocolate cake.... yum...


...and the icing on the cake (pun intended) was that I learned that soybean farmers (like my family) provide so many of the ingredients that I use to cook with everyday in my own kitchen!
For example, the chickens that made the eggs for this cake were fed a diet containing soybean meal, the wheat flour was fortified with soy flour for added protein and vitamins, the oil in the cake is made from soybeans, and the chocolate icing contains soybean oil to help it maintain it's liquid form!
Hope you enjoyed this "virtual visit" to the Farm Tech exhibit!
For more information:

2 comments:

  1. Sarah! It was great meeting you this past week in Chicago! That's great you were able to take a side trip to the museum on your way home...looks like fun:)

    P.S. Did you get your cheese photo I sent you? I believe I sent it to your FB email.

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  2. Found your email in my junk box. Emailed you back Nancy! So glad you mentioned you sent it so I could go looking for it!

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