More than a few adults were wishing they could be kids again as they toured the new agricultural exhibit at the Saskatchewan Science Centre in Regina.
Children from Shaunavon, Sask., and a Regina day care were all over the kid-sized combine, inland terminal play structure and a boat that takes lentils to India.
Gazing up at the children inside the Pioneer terminal, centre executive director Sandy Baumgartner predicted the structure would be a popular spot for sleeping bags at the centre’s next sleepover.
Richardson Ag-grow-land is the result of the centre’s desire to permanently showcase modern agriculture.
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Curt Vossen, president of Richardson International, said the stereotypical red barn and dairy cows are not the agriculture of today.
“It’s exciting, it’s global, it’s sophisticated,” he said. “We’re feeding the world.”
Other sponsors include the provincial ministry, Agriculture Council of Saskatchewan, Rabobank, Monsanto, Mosaic, Yara Belle Plaine and Enterprise Saskatchewan.
Bruce Crouter, chair of the science centre board, said an agricultural exhibit is the perfect way to celebrate the centre’s 20th anniversary.
The display was a hit with the children who crowded into the combine to harvest a crop and watch plasma screens as they virtually drove around the field and filled the hopper in the back.
They unloaded their grain into toy trucks and drove them to the terminal for unloading.
At the terminal office, children could check for pests and watch crop prices. And in the boat, they could decide where to send their grain and moved it through tubes to the right compartment.
In the barn, they watched a video of a calf being born and learned about livestock. Realistic-looking cow patties offered the scoop on poop.
At the homestead, children could pick wheat with spaghetti roots, along with other crops, and learn more about their food.
The science centre is open daily.
