TEXAS EXPERIENCE
The Texas Experience pavilion is presented by the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in conjunction with dozens of Texas-based agencies, exhibitors, volunteer groups and others.
The focus of the Texas Experience pavilion is to the introduce people to the products, industries, plants and wildlife of this great state, and to share information and expertise to improve the quality of life for Texans.
The Texas Experience Pavilion showcases the programs and focus of the Texas Department of Agriculture. The GO TEXAN program highlights an expansive display of member programs and products. New this year is the GO TEXAN Wildlife exhibit, featuring products and services based in the great outdoors of Texas. From flavorful foods to fibers and wood products, if it's made and grown with pride in Texas, you'll learn about it at the Texas Experience.
Daily highlights include:
Go Hunt. Go Fish. GO TEXAN! This exhibit will feature the Texas Department of Agriculture's new GO TEXAN Wildlife Initiative, highlighting businesses and organizations based around wildlife activities. This category of the GO TEXAN promotional campaign includes operations involved in hunting, fishing, exotic animal farms, fisheries, wildlife accessories, and the organizations and associations devoted to these activities.
The Ice Cream Shoppe - Sponsored by Southwest Dairy Museum, the Ice Cream Shoppe is a tribute to the dairy farmers of this great State. Ice cream samples are available every day from 10 am - 7 pm.
"Toast a Rising Star" - This exhibit showcases Texas wines from across the State. With over 280 family owned vineyards covering in excess of 3100 acres in production, this State has a lot to brag about! Texas is the 5th largest wine producing state and is home to the oldest continuously operating winery in the country. Texas Wine Sampling on the weekends.
BeeZZZZ! - Sponsored by the Alamo Area Beekeepers Association, this exhibit features a cut-away of an active bee hive, bees, honey and honeycomb. Visit with the beekeepers, and see if you can locate the Queen Bee. Come see what all the BeeZZZZ is about!
GO TEXAN General Store - The General Store displays food, fiber, health & beauty, and many items that are grown, produced, or manufactured in Texas. Weekends find sampling and sales by GO TEXAN member companies, so make sure to stop by for some of the best that Texas has to offer. Do you GO TEXAN with your purchases?
In the Kitchen with GO TEXAN - The Kitchen features GO TEXAN products in cooking and preparing your everyday meals. From garden fresh vegetables to Texas Gulf Shrimp, check the daily schedule of events for days and times. And while you're there, check out the listing of GO TEXAN Restaurants that are committed to using locally grown items. Make sure you stop by for a taste - you'll be glad you did!
NRCS - This federal agency is in charge of assisting farmers and ranchers conserve their natural resources while maintaining their economic sustainability. Stop by to visit and get the latest information.
GO TEXAN Rural Communities - This initiative from the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) promotes the growth and prosperity of every rural town, city and county in this great State. Rural Texas covers approximately 80 percent of the state's total area, so getting urbanites to visiting our country folks makes good use of their time and money.
National Park Service and Amtrak - Our local San Antonio Missions, part of the National Historical Parks, help us retrace the footsteps of the mission Indians and friars. Stop by to learn how the famous arches were constructed, and find out a little more about the Mission's purpose. The National Park Service, partnering with Amtrak, promote the Trails & Rails Program, an on train and hands-on experience. Make sure to register for a free trip on Amtrak while you're there.
Texas AgriLife Extension Service at the Texas Experience pavilion:
"Improving Lives. Improving Texas" is the theme of Texas AgriLife Extension Service exhibits, educational activities and hands-on demonstrations at the 2010 Texas Experience Pavilion.
The focus will be how AgriLife Extension and affiliated agencies and volunteer organizations enhance the quality of life for Texans through information, educational programming and technical assistance. Topics and areas of interest include: horticulture, entomology, youth gardening, landscaping, kitchen safety, integrated pest management, natural resource conservation and environmental stewardship.
Exhibits, presentations, activities and instruction are provided by AgriLife Extension, Bexar County Master Gardeners, Guadalupe County Master Gardeners and other affiliated agencies and volunteer organizations, including the Cooperative Extension Program of Prairie View A&M University, the USDA's Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and Alamo Area Master Naturalists.
AgriLife Extension offerings at the Texas Experience Pavilion will include:
Youth Gardening Area -- The Youth Gardening area is dedicated to introducing young people to the world of gardening and to the opportunities in the Texas green industry. Area exhibits and activities show kids how gardening can also teach them about math and science, along with helping them develop useful skills and a respect for nature. This year's exhibits include two entomology displays, a plant propagation area, an indoor water garden, a vertical farming area, a sustainable agriculture display of hydroponics systems and a Youth Gardening Program promotional display.
Safety in the Kitchen -- A display and demonstration area focusing on kitchen cleanliness and food safety related to the proper handling, preparation and storage of foods. There will be a hand-washing station in the area to help demonstrate to children the proper technique and duration of hand washing to ensure cleanliness prior to handling food. AgriLife Extension, Cooperative Extension Program and Expanded Food and Nutrition Education staff will also present cooking demonstrations, which will include a "Tomato to Table" presentation on cleaning and preparing foods for the table. Kitchen safety presentations will take place all day through the run of the show, with special "Safety in the Kitchen" presentations at 6 p.m. each day except Feb. 10 and additional special presentations at 11 a.m. on weekends. AgriLife Extension personnel will also present cooking demonstrations at the Texas Experience pavilion.
Horticulture, Gardening & Landscaping -- Exhibits and demonstrations related to horticulture, gardening and landscaping will be presented by AgriLife Extension personnel and AgriLife Extension's volunteer horticulture organization, the Bexar County Master Gardeners. These will include exhibits and demonstrations on the use of drip irrigation in gardens, yards and landscapes, the application of vertical farming and square-foot gardening for locations with limited space, the use of native and adapted plants in an urban landscape and an "enabling garden" designed for those confined to a wheelchair or with other physical impairments.
Bexar County Master Gardeners will provide Texas Experience attendees with gardening and horticultural advice and expertise, including seasonal gardening information and handouts. They also will sell heat-tolerant Phoenix tomato plants and the new Lady Bird Blue bluebonnet - both especially chosen for this year's rodeo - with the proceeds going to Youth Garden Program scholarships. They also will present The Schultze House shop, where attendees can purchase a variety of creative, interesting, colorful gardening-related merchandise.
Rainwater Harvesting -- A display on rainwater harvesting and how to build a basic home rainwater capture and containment system will be presented by AgriLife Extension. The display will show how rainwater harvesting works and explain its cost and water conservation benefits. The step-by-step hands-on construction of a basic home rainwater harvesting system will demonstrate the ease and relatively low expense of making a simple home system for lawn and garden irrigation. There also will be information on the use of larger, more elaborate rainwater harvesting systems for potable and non-potable use.
Herpetology -- Snake experts from the Alamo Area Herpetology Society will display dozens of poisonous and non-poisonous snakes native to Texas. They will inform attendees on snake habits and habitats, and how snakes can be identified by size, color and other characteristics. They also will show how snakes are necessary to the Texas ecosystem and separate fact from fiction on snake behavior and danger.
Wildlife -- The Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife will present its "Skins and Skulls" wildlife exhibit. Visitors to this exhibit will learn how to identify native Texas wildlife and find out about the habits and behaviors of those animals. They will also learn about the role of wildlife in a variety of ecosystems throughout Texas and the need for good environmental stewardship. The exhibit will display taxidermy prepared wildlife, as well as various skins and skulls of animals typically found in Texas, such as armadillos, possums, racoons, deer, and coyotes.
