Education
It's funny to think of actually learning something at the fair. It should just be a big snack and go on ride show. There are quite a few learning opportunities – the DNR fish tank and DNR building is a big draw. There's a very Bell Museum kind of animal diorama in the DNR building. I love it. At Heritage Square you can watch a blacksmith and woodturner and learn about newspaper printing – to name a few things. There’s the Miracle of Birth building to see things being squeezed out by animals. And there’s a farm for the city kids. I kinda dig the Territorial Pioneers Museum (they don’t promote it well at the fair on the web) and the State fair history museums because they're old and dusty never change.
Some things are just soft selling products; the new Eco Experience building has all sorts of green stuff to learn about and also has sales reps on hand to sell you the recycled glass counter tops flooring and electric cars. Everyone’s gotta make a buck, somehow.
Long ago, there was a Betty Crocker demo kitchen in the Creative Activities building. It was great – women in aprons making stuff from mixes or canning. Pretty dry stuff. I have some of the recipe brochures they handed out. You wonder why it fell out of favor. Maybe because the core audience was dying out, literally. So Betty packed up and they needed new fresh talent to liven up the joint. They ask Klecko, master baker from Saint Agnes bakery because he knows everyone in the twin cities food biz. And his show is the best at the fair. I’ve even been a guest at his demo kitchen explaining to the crowd about ice cream trucks and novelties. Pictured is Klecko in the State fair demo kitchen.
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