Fair's educational efforts cover roosters to robots

Ah, the good ‘ol county fair.

The nostalgia assaults your senses: sweet blueberry pies, squealing pigs, twirling carnival rides — a whole lot of old-timey, Americana fun.

But at the DuPage County Fair, organizers also want you to check out robots and GPS technology.

It's a balancing act in the fair's focus on agricultural education: channel the area's rural roots, but still capture the modern advancements in the industry.

All of that plays out at the fair's Ag-Ventureland, the educational hub open each day of the fair, from Wednesday to Sunday, July 25-29. The area is free with fair admission, but there are charges for pony rides and access to a butterfly exhibit.

Kids and families can view antique tractors and wagons and, just a few feet away, learn to make a rope or shell an ear of corn. One of the biggest draws each year is the sheepshearing demonstration by Harold Davis, who can shave the wool off sheep as easily as Edward Scissorhands can manicure a hairdo.

Ag-Ventureland is a fair mainstay that reminds Chairman Tom Meyer of his days as a teenager cultivating corn and grain at his “serene” uncle's farm in Michigan.

“I loved that part of my youth, and the fair kind of brings that back,” the St. Charles man said.

He's still surprised at the kids who play Ag-Ventureland's Farmer for a Day game as many as four to five times. It mimics the experience of harvesting with youngsters collecting plastic apples and potatoes.

“I thought these are just simple games, but boy, these kids, they really thrive on these things,” Meyer said. “That's when all the work is worth it. You see these happy faces, everybody enjoying what they're seeing.”

Part of that work involves scouring state, regional and national fair conventions each year to keep Ag-Ventureland fresh and current. At one of those conventions, he spotted a combine simulator and made that a new addition for the area this year.

It's essentially a trailer with the cab of a combine mounted inside. A video display in front of the cab takes viewers through the process of picking corn.

For the second year, Fox Valley Robotics and Batavia Robotics will explain the programming and machinery behind robots built by students in fourth grade up to high school. The nonprofit organization allows them to work side by side with engineers and compete in robotic competitions like the Great Lakes Midwest Illinois VEX Regional Championship, says Julie Draus, a team coordinator for one of the group's divisions.

Some of the robots are made of Legos, operated by handheld devices or preprogrammed to perform certain tasks — like shooting a basketball with about 98 percent accuracy.

But what does that have to do with agricultural education?

Both Draus and Meyer pointed to robotic machines, not human drivers, steering equipment like tractors.

“It's really changed the face of what a farmer looks like and what they need to know,” Draus, of St. Charles, said. “To go into any type of agriculture, they really need a lot of these skills.”

While the entertainment and music acts may draw people to the fair in an area with dwindling farmland, the educational component is the heart of the event, DuPage County Fair President Jim McGuire said.

“We take great pride in that,” McGuire said. “We want to remain that and will remain that.”