UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Fun, education and free stuff await visitors to The Family Room building at Penn State's 1997 Ag Progress Days, August 12-14.
This new exhibits area will stress issues of importance to all Pennsylvania families, such as raising children, making the most of financial resources and maintaining physical and mental health.
"The exhibits and activities in The Family Room will highlight only a few of the many programs Penn State is involved in," says Diane Brown, associate director for cooperative extension in the College of Agricultural Sciences. "Displays will focus on cooperative extension programs designed to strengthen families; enhance the development of children and youth; and build caring, safe and healthy communities."
The Family Room exhibits will include:
- Poison prevention information from the Central Pennsylvania Poison Center. "Mr. Yuk" stickers will be given out.
- Hershey Medical Center's Agromedicine program, a partnership of medical and agricultural professionals to promote the health and safety of farm families, agricultural workers and consumers.
- Eating Right with the Food Guide Pyramid, a display featuring daily demonstrations on selecting and preparing foods in healthy ways.
- Staying Well at Home, Intergenerational Issues, which will provide information for elders and their families about staying well and maintaining independent living.
- Cutting Credit Loss, focusing on techniques that help reduce the cost of using credit cards and other forms of consumer credit.
- Financial Life Skills, an exhibit highlighting basic skills for individuals and families to make financial decisions ranging from organizing records to maintaining a valid will.
- Better Kid Care, an educational and training program for child care providers and parents.
- Exercising Character, an exhibit focusing on moral behavior, values and good citizenship.
- Community Coalitions for Tobacco-free Youth, which will provide information about youth tobacco use, distribute free posters, luggage tags and other gifts, and allow children to pledge not to use tobacco products.
- AgrAbility for Pennsylvanians, an exhibit showcasing information about independent living and inexpensive home modifications for farm workers or family members affected by a disability.
- The Northern Appalachia Leadership Initiative on Cancer, which will offer early detection strategies for breast, cervical, prostate and skin cancer.
- The Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health, which will distribute information about efforts to improve health care services for rural Pennsylvanians.
- Five-A-Day, a display focusing on adults and children nationwide who meet the goals of the Five-A-Day for Better Health Program.
- Healthy Indoor Air for America's Homes, concentrating on research about indoor environmental contamination from carbon monoxide, radon, asbestos, mold, mildew, lead paint and other substances.
Penn State's Ag Progress Days features more than 500 acres of educational and commercial exhibits, tours and machinery demonstrations. It is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, nine miles southwest of State College on Route 45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, with extended hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Admission and parking are free.
For more information, call (800) PSU-1010 toll-free through August 14 or visit the Ag Progress Days site on the World Wide Web at http://www.cas.psu.edu/docs/AGIS/APD/APD.HTML.
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EDITORS: For more information about the family room, contact Nancy Wilson at 814-863-5880. For more information about Ag Progress Days, contact Jennifer MacIsaac at 814-865-3636 or Chuck Gill at 814-863-2713.
Contacts: Deepika Reddy dcr122@psu.edu 814-863-2703 814-865-1068 fax