09/25/2026
Every day we can teach interested kids about our heritage is a great day! Last Friday we introduced about 130 elementary schoolers from Juniata Valley and Huntingdon Area school districts to our collection during Ag in the Classroom. Yesterday, we welcomed PA Senator Judy Ward and her A.B. Ross Leadership Program to the Huntingdon County Fair grounds for a day themed, "Learning from the Past, Leading in the Present, Shaping Agriculture's Future".
Penn State Extension brought 4-H teens from Huntingdon, Blair, Fulton, Mifflin, and Juniata counties to learn about pollinators, artificial intelligence, and ag history.
Oh yeah. And see an agricultural drone demonstration, courtesy of Stone Valley Drones! And while Travis Couch stole the show with his drone, which can spray fungicide, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizer, or spread seed... kids were pretty engaged with our collection of antiques, too!
4-H teens admired our newly-acquired welding rig, made from a Ford Model A chassis and engine, while elementary schoolers had an eye-opening experience walking on our horse treadmill (which would power any number of old machinery on display). We teach kids about the Great Depression, but explaining that families without electricity used an ice box, or used a gas engine to power their washing machine, really starts to bring the past into perspective. Our collection of antique chainsaws, with no lightweight plastic to be found, made eyes wide. And it was fun to see the lightbulbs come on when we explained why a combine is called a combine (because it combines the actions of harvesting and threshing into one unit!)!
We shared with these youth how people made lives and homes in Huntingdon County (and our entire region), and how they found ways of working smarter. We pointed out how much progress we've made, in growing more food on less land using fewer people and resources than ever before! And we reminded them that we have plenty of problems to resolve and challenges to overcome. And while the solutions arent always there, and they arent always easy, THIS generation coming of age are the ones who will solve the quandaries that we face.
We'd like to think that we've inspired them with these guided tours of our museum, and we certainly hope some of the relics and inventions stick with them, and give them the sparks that find answers.
We're always happy to open our doors and share our heritage; our Thursday workdays during the warmer months are a great time to stop by. Give us a shout if you'd like to come visit!
