UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Pasto Agricultural Museum will feature two new exhibits and one expanded exhibit during Penn State’s Ag Progress Days, Aug. 11-13, as part of the museum’s engaging, hands-on portrayal of farm and rural life before the widespread use of electricity and gas-powered equipment.
Located near the top of Main Street at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs and open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day of the show, the museum features tools and technology used in agricultural and rural life through the 1930s.
As in every year at Ag Progress Days, the Pasto Agricultural Museum strives to connect the agricultural past with present-day practice and research in food, environment and renewable resources, according to Rita Graef, director of the Pasto Agricultural Museum and Armsby Respiration Calorimeter.
“The museum collection focuses on what life was like and how work was done before gasoline engines and rural electrification,” she said. “The museum will immerse visitors in thinking about our food and fiber systems and natural resources. The museum provides an opportunity to explore important issues facing agriculture and the environment in a historical context.”
New exhibits
— “Signpost of Civilization: Transformation of Rural America by the Postal Service.” This exhibit features artifacts found at local farmsteads and provides insight into how residents may have acquired the items discovered in these archeological sites. The installation is curated by Claire Milner, emerita associate research professor and former museum director in Penn State’s Department of Anthropology.
— “Timeline of Domesticated Crops.” Humans foraged for wild cereals, seeds and nuts thousands of years before the plants were domesticated. Plant domestication is a slow process that occurs through artificial selection and a mutualistic relationship between humans and plants. Visitors can follow this exhibit’s timeline and think about how these plants have changed over the decades, centuries or millennia.
A garden installation, this exhibit asks, “How are humans continuing to change the plants we cultivate?” Each garden box is planted with a different crop and shares a brief history. Visitors can see which crops they can identify and how they use these plants on their farms, in their gardens or in the food they consume.
— New chapters have been added to the Land and Legacy StoryMap and related exhibit installation, showcasing the history of Ag Progress Days, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary on the show site. Learn about Russell E. Larson’s vision for what is today the Agricultural Research Center named after him.
Family programming
— “Handful of Historic Crops.” From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Aug. 12, learn about the history of various field crops, from flax to tomatoes. Visitors can plant their own “Farm in a Glove” with wheat, barley, oats, soybeans and corn to take home and grow. This activity is inspired by the museum’s garden installation where visitors can see oats, soybeans, wheat, barley, flax, corn, tomatoes, potatoes and more growing just outside the museum.
— Third annual Ag Lit Day. Free to the public, the event will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon, Aug. 13. Held in partnership with the Penn State University Press and local authors, it will include book signings and a chance to speak with authors of books on Pennsylvania history, Penn State and the natural world. Lemonade and cookies will be available while supplies last.
Penn State University Press again this year will be inside the Pasto Museum offering publications of interest to visitors, covering history, science, agriculture and the environment, in addition to Penn State favorites.
More information
Sponsored by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, Ag Progress Days is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, 9 miles southwest of State College on Route 45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 11; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 12; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 13. Admission and parking are free.
For more information, visit the Ag Progress Days website. X users can find and share information about the event by using the hashtag #agprogressdays, and the event also can be found on Facebook (@AgProgressDays).