UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — From strawberry salsa to sun protection, the Family Room Building will offer a range of health and wellness education during Penn State’s Ag Progress Days, Aug. 9-11.
Open to all ages, the Family Room is located on Main Street between Eighth and Ninth streets at the Ag Progress Days site.
Displays and activities will include the following:
— Speaking presentations and food demonstrations: Several talks will take place each day, covering topics such as kinship family resources, financial literacy, sun protection and skin cancer, poison prevention, ticks, and stress in agriculture.
Educators from the Penn State Extension Food, Families and Health and Food Safety and Quality teams will prepare healthy recipes and demonstrate safe home food preservation techniques. Demonstrations will feature strawberry spinach salad; ginger lime watermelon salad; Mediterranean chickpea salad; strawberry salsa; grilled corn salad with avocado and tomato; classic Caesar salad; and a blueberry and cream smoothie. Food preservation demonstrations will cover water- bath canning of salsa and water-bath canning of blueberry spice jam.
The Ag Progress Days Facebook page will feature some of the food demonstrations and speaking presentations live for those interested in tuning in online.
— Mental health and wellness in agriculture: Agriculture ranks among the most stressful and hazardous industries. Personal injuries, extreme and unpredictable weather conditions, machine breakdowns and rollovers, highly contagious animal diseases, and fluctuating crop prices can cause excessive stress on the farmer and farm family. This display provides resources and tips for identifying and responding to stressors in positive ways.
— Health and wellness: Aimed at helping visitors achieve a healthy lifestyle, this exhibit will provide information on physical fitness, nutrition and chronic disease prevention.
— Family well-being: This display will offer ideas and resources on parenting and childcare, grandparents raising grandchildren, and financial management.
— Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching and Engagement: This exhibit will showcase a joint initiative between the nation’s Cooperative Extension System and the Centers for Disease Control, providing accurate and trusted information on immunization and vaccines.
— Home food preservation and consumer food safety: In celebration of National Food Safety Month in September, Penn State food safety specialists will provide research-based information on how to safely store and preserve foods at home.
— Pesticide education: This display will offer information about pests, integrated pest management and poison prevention. Visitors can test their knowledge by spinning the wheel to answer a question and win a prize.
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. 9; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 10; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 11. Admission and parking are free.
For more information, visit the Ag Progress Days website. Twitter users can find and share information about the event by using the hashtag #agprogressdays. The event also can be found on Facebook (@AgProgressDays).