April 2, 2003

Beginning July 25, 2003, visitors to Living History Farms will be able to experience the latest interactive exhibits and an historic crop walk thanks to a $500,000 donation from Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.

The exhibits, to be located in the Wallace Exhibit Center, will combine historic artifacts, interactive kiosks, and computer-based educational opportunities that will focus on significant events, technologies, and social changes that occurred during the last 100 years.

This dynamic learning environment will help guests learn how changes in 20th-century agriculture affected farms and rural families of the time. Visitors will also discover how recent advances in farming, including the uses of modern agricultural products in medicine, clothing, and fuel, affect their lives each day.

Outside the Wallace Exhibit Center, a new "100-Year Crop Walk" will feature demonstration plots of prairie grasses, the earliest corn varieties, and modern crops including soybeans, hybrid corn, biotech varieties, and tame grasses used to feed livestock. Demonstrations and hands-on activities such as extracting DNA and detasseling will allow visitors to compare and contrast the historic farming practices at the three period farms with the techniques used by modern farmers. Visitors will better understand the significant changes in agriculture and rural life over the last century. Pioneer has also offered the time and expertise of their staff, access to their extensive photo and video library, and technical information including historic seeds for the crop walk.

"The new exhibits are critical to connecting agriculture of the past to the modern methods of the 20th and 21st centuries," Living History Farms CEO Sandi Yoder said. "Living History Farms is proud of its 35-year partnership with Pioneer, and this most recent gift will enable us to complete our history of agriculture from the untouched prairies of prehistory to the modern farm of today."

The total project is expected to cost $716,500. The first phase of the exhibit, focusing on changes in agricultural technology will open July 25, 2003, to coincide with the annual Grain Harvest Festival. The second phase of the exhibit will open May 1, 2004. Phase II will expand the focus to include changes in the home and farmstead; the changes in crops and farm practices, including the development of hybrid and biotech corn and soybeans, as well as the changes in livestock breeds and genetics; the
changing mechanization used for growing corn, soybeans, and hay; the changes in food preservation and nutritional standards; and the switch from producing food for the family and market to almost exclusively for markets.

Living History Farms has contracted with Split Rock Studios (St. Paul, Minn.) to design and install the new exhibits. Split Rock is nationally recognized for its extensive experience in the design and installation of visitor-friendly exhibits. Their projects include: The American Idea, National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, Simi Valley, Calif.; Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, West Branch, Iowa; Great Lakes Aquarium at Lake Superior Center, Duluth, Minn.; Iowa History Center, Des Moines, Iowa; The New Strategic Air Command Museum, Omaha, Neb.; Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, Sioux City, Iowa; and Putnam Museum of Natural History, Davenport, Iowa.

"Get Your Grip on History at Living History Farms"

The new exhibit and "100-Year Crop Walk, sponsored by Pioneer" are part of the "Get Your Grip on History at Living History Farms" program. During the first two years of the program, nearly 90,000 pairs of work gloves, also sponsored by Pioneer, were given to visitors as an invitation to participate
in daily hands-on historical activities. The activities immersed visitors of all ages in learning about the changes in agriculture over time through planned experiences at every site. The complete program encourages young and old alike to take part in hands-on chores at the 1700, 1850, and 1900 farms,
daily apprenticeship opportunities in the 1875 town of Walnut Hill, and special activities at the Flynn Barn.

No other museum in the United States is offering the combination of expansive core program and extensive, changing hands-on activities on a daily basis. Because this program appeals to diverse audiences -- urban and rural; local, state, regional, and international; young and mature; and individuals and group travelers -- it was recognized as Iowa's 2001 Tourism Attraction of the Year by the Iowa Tourism Division and the Iowa Travel Federation.

Living History Farms

Living History Farms is a 550-acre open-air museum that tells the amazing story of how Iowans combined hard work and technology to transform the fertile prairies of the Midwest into the most productive farmland in the world. The 1700 Ioway Indian Farm shows how Iowa's first farmers worked the rich black soil. On the 1850 Farm, oxen do much of the heavy work and the noon meal is prepared over an open hearth. The 1875 town of Walnut Hill re-creates a bustling frontier community. At the 1900 Farm, draft horses supply the power in the fields that surround the white frame farmhouse. The
Henry A. Wallace Exhibit Center explains how agriculture continues to change during the 20th and 21st centuries. Historical interpreters work at each of the farms, homes, and shops.
Living History Farms is a non-profit, historical, educational foundation located at 2600 111th St. (exit #125 from the combined interstates 35/80), Urbandale, Iowa. For more information, visit Living History Farms on-line at http://www.lhf.org (lhfmedia)