3 minute read
Small Animal Experience
Small Animal Experience is no small deal
Did you know an ape has a baby, a bear has a cub, a bee has larva? ere’s a place at the Northwest Washington Fair in Lynden that teaches these very types of things in a hands-on way. e Small Animal Experience focuses on seeing and spending time with small animals as the name implies. A long-time fan favorite for fairgoers, last year 35,000 visits were made here. is exhibit came out of a local 4-H group, the Barn Buddies, who still spend the year prepping and planning for this big project and gaining leadership skills.
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“Our goal is to teach an awareness of agriculture through cute animals,” Brooke Vander Veen Weimer said. is year four generations of family are spending months to bring together the baby animals. While Debbie Vander Veen founded this living display in 2009, her parents, Bob and Pauline Van Weerdhuizen, and her daughter Brooke will be meeting and greeting. Brooke, a former agriculture education teacher, is now a stay-at-home mother and will be bringing her soon-to-be six-monthold baby son with her. She took over the lead role in 2017.
Local community members, 4-H and FFA supply the animals. Who will be there this year of the animal kind? “Extremely cute calves which are cross bred for dairy and beef. It’s not seen as often.”
Some of the calves come from the farms of former 4-H members who went from raising the animals for the fair to now having their own business in raising them. ey will be joined by a miniature horse, very playful goats, guinea pigs, and lots of rabbits of all sizes. is year the sow and piglets will be inside the Henry Jansen Barn while the other animals will be near the barn in a tent.
For this year’s Small Animal Experience, Aug. 15 from 10 a.m. until 9:30 p.m., visitors can interact withthe small animals inside of the Henry Jansen Building and also in a second locationin a tent
nearby. (Elisa Claassen for the Tribune)
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The Northwest Washington Fair’s Small Animal Experience, Aug. 15 from 10 a.m. until 9:30 p.m., has 600
two-hour volunteer slots to look after the animals and answer questions. (Elisa Claassen for the Tribune)
e Small Animal Experience will supply followers and fans with up-to-date information as they plan their fair visit by updating Facebook and Instagram. While the visitors come from 10 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 15, 600 two-hour volunteer slots are lled to bring in the animals, clean the pens, feed them, and to talk with visitors.
Others are on-call at all hours to make sure the animals get the care they need.
New this year is a story time which families and animals will enjoy. As visitors go through the exhibit and ooh and ahhh over the cute babies, they can partake in a scavenger hunt. By the end of the Fair a winner from the hunt will receive a nice bundle of goodies mailed to them, Brooke said.
Hand washing stations are set up around the exhibit. Guests are encouraged to come with questions for the volunteers to learn more about the animals.
-- Elisa Claassen
