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NEWS RELEASE

07-20-01

Contacts:
Carole Custer, Marketing, (515) 294-3134
Steve Sullivan, News Service, (515) 294-3720

ISU TO REKINDLE MEMORIES OF COLLEGE LIFE AT STATE FAIR

AMES, Iowa -- Memories of college of will be rekindled at Iowa State University's exhibit at the Iowa State Fair, Aug. 9-19.

Iowa State will launch its new all-university celebration, "Challenging students to become their best," at the fair.

Iowa State's main exhibit, located in the northeast corner of the Varied Industries Building, will feature residence hall living, then and now. "Then" will be represented by a 1960s-era male dorm room, a life-sized replica furnished with vintage accessories. The "now" model will focus on a contemporary women's residence hall room, highlighting the myriad differences in on-campus living in the past 30-plus years. ISU's Department of Residence staff members are coordinating the construction and interior design of the rooms.

"This is a great opportunity to show prospective students and parents what residence hall life is really like at Iowa State. And based on what we know about the demographics of State Fair attendees, there will be many late '60s fairgoers who will connect with our exhibit," said Carole Custer, director of university marketing.

The university exhibit also will debut Iowa State's new series of television commercials highlighting ISU students who have "met the challenge." Representatives of the ISU Admissions Office will be on site throughout the 10 days to answer questions. Live computers will be linked to the Internet to allow visitors to send ISU virtual postcards, and the ISU Alumni Association's online alumni directory will be available at the fair.

ISU athletics will be featured throughout the exhibit as well. Student-athletes and coaches will be spotlighted each day, and Big 12 basketball trophies and the Insight.com Bowl champion trophy will be on display. Football posters and schedules for football, women's soccer and volleyball will be available, as will the ever-popular Cy tattoos. Fairgoers may also participate in drawings for Cyclone T-shirts and tickets to ISU football games and Iowa State Center events. According to Custer, about 130 ISU faculty and staff will volunteer at the university exhibit during the fair's run.

Iowa State merchandise will be on sale at the exhibit.

The College of Agriculture's annual exhibit in the Agriculture Building will focus on ISU's NASA Food Technology Commercial Space Center. The center works to improve food for astronauts and to enhance packaging, preparation and storage of food for mass consumers. A highlight of the exhibit will be an authentic spacesuit, on loan from NASA.

WOI Radio and ISU Extension again will share an exhibit in the east corner of the Grandstand. WOI programs "Talk of Iowa" and "Midday" will broadcast from the fair, and fairgoers can meet on-air personalities and radio staff members.

"Go Ahead and BUG Us" is the theme of this year's Extension exhibit, which will feature an insect zoo from ISU's Department of Entomology, and a focus on native Iowa insects. In addition, a casting of Christian Petersen's "Cornhusker" sculpture will be on display. Petersen was Iowa State's first artist-in-residence.

ISU Extension will be all over the fair, through thousands of 4-H displays, presentations and animal and horticulture exhibits. High school juniors and seniors showing beef, sheep or swine at the fair may compete for state 4-H "premier exhibitor" scholarships, said Mary Clancy, 4-H ag program specialist. Scoring for scholarship selection is based on ribbons, showmanship, a written exam, skills assessment and a personal interview. Three scholarships are awarded in each of the three livestock areas, in the amounts of $500, $750 and $1,250. Brad Skaar, ISU associate professor of animal science, coordinates the program; scholarship funds are provided by the Iowa Farm Bureau and the Iowa Foundation for Agricultural Advancement.

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