Indiana

The Indiana State fair brought over 850,000 visitors over 17 days in August. Indiana AgrAbility maintained an interactive educational display in the FFA pavilion throughout the fair. AgrAbility is fortunate the display is next to the ever-popular FFA petting zoo, so AgrAbility always has an audience! The exhibit included a John Deere tractor with an accessible lift, several other AT items, and a sampling of AgrAbility resources as handouts. AgrAbility staff members, Purdue Extension educators, and Indiana AgrAbility advisory team volunteers staffed the display. Each day hundred of kids (and a few adventurous adults) took a ride on the LifeLyfts lift. For many, the experience was their first time ever sitting on a tractor, let alone one with an accessible lift! In addition to the FFA Pavilion display, the AgrAbility team joined our Purdue colleagues for two evenings, hosting a temporary exhibit in the Purdue Extension building. The Extension Building display helped to raise awareness of AgrAbility among the public, but also strengthened collaborative ties with Purdue counterparts. The state fair provided a great opportunity to increase awareness of disability challenges among new audiences, while also allowing the team the opportunity to re-connect with many friends and clients of the AgrAbility program.

Submitted by Ed Sheldon