For the third year in a row, the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC) and the Center for Applied Plant Sciences (CAPS) were supporting sponsors of Farm Days at COSI. This five day event brings the farm to the city with hands-on activities, live animals, large farm equipment and more.

Seventeen faculty, staff and graduate students from ABRC, CAPS and the Translational Plant Sciences graduate program were on hand throughout the event, facilitating a variety of agriculture-themed activities. By our estimates, we interacted with more than 2,800 people during this year’s Farm Days.

The activities we offered varied daily, and included:

• An entomology display featuring common soybean pests
• An Investigation Station where guests explored various plant artifacts
• Seed germination and a demonstration of the various things plants need to grow and be healthy
• A matching game challenging guests to match seeds to the plants they grow and food they produce
• An exploration of plant pigments including an investigation of how different pigments react to acids and bases
• A craft project using plant pigments to color a coffee filter flowers
• A planting station with basil seedlings

Farm Days at COSI is just one of the many outreach events that ABRC and CAPS participate in each year. Contact us if you are interested in having us participate in a community event or school program.