UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Learn about family issues, health, safety and nutrition at "The Family Room" at Penn State's 2001 Ag Progress Days, Aug. 14-16. The Family Room is located in the Family Learning Hub on Main Street, between West 8th and 9th streets at the Ag Progress Days site. Visitors with children can go on a treasure hunt or relax at the "Kids Corner," a special area where children and parents can do art activities, enjoy water play and read stories together. Families also will find a variety of informative exhibits:

Healthy Food, Healthy Families will include daily food demonstrations on topics such as foods made from soy and tofu, increasing calcium in the diet and "Kids in the Kitchen."

Character Counts for Kids will feature activities related to character education.

Connecting the Generations will illustrate the many ways young people and older adults can come together. At "Intergenerational Sketching," participants can have fun creating images of things young people and older adults can do together. At "Stump your Relative," kids and older relatives can test how much they know about the other's generation.

Families Are Important and Resilient will share ways families can deal with stress. "Reading Wizards" will show how to make reading a family activity. "Youth Sports" will provide information to parents and coaches about making youth sports a positive experience for the family. Information also will be available on how dads can get more involved in their kids' lives.

The Four C's of Food Safety will explore proper cooking and cooling, preventing cross-contamination and keeping hands, utensils and equipment clean. Visitors can check out different kinds of food thermometers.

Full Circle: Agriculture, Nutrition and Health will show how the Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Network (PA NEN) and Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Plan (PA NEP) help low-income Pennsylvanians to increase their capacity to have healthy, delicious meals.

Increase Your Financial Know-How will feature ways to increase your money IQ and prepare for the future by saving, investing and distributing belongings to family members.

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) teaches food preparation and nutrition to low-income youth and young families across Pennsylvania. The exhibit will include an interactive quiz board and food safety information.

Keeping Kids Safe, by the Better Kid Care program, will feature ways parents can help keep kids safe while playing in the sun or around water, and riding bikes, scooters and skateboards.

Making Healthy Decisions About Eating: Reducing Your Risk of Colo-rectal Cancer will provide tips on healthy cooking and eating and recommendations for colo-rectal cancer screening. Learn about community cancer coalitions and the Appalachian Cancer Network.

Secondhand Tobacco Smoke Prevention will show how to have the smoke-free air we deserve in public places. Breathing secondhand smoke increases the risk of developing cancer.

Road to Work will give kids and families the chance to interactively explore the many employment opportunities available in their communities. Preparing kids to be successful in the work world begins at home.

Up Close and Personal with DB Pest, by Penn State's Pesticide Education Program and the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health, interactively teaches pesticide safety and how to reduce exposure around the home through a life-sized board game. Visitors also can learn about the West Nile Virus, a pest problem currently making headlines, and take home fact sheets and activity books.

Wellness will feature two principles that improve our ability to remain healthy: regular activity and eating more foods from the bottom of the food pyramid. Visitors can estimate how far they've walked, and see if they can identify high fiber foods.

Because of concerns over the possible transmission of foot-and-mouth disease and other foreign animal diseases, visitors who have been overseas within two weeks of attending Ag Progress Days are asked not to visit the event's live-animal exhibit areas.

Penn State's Ag Progress Days is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, nine miles southwest of State College on Route 45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday. Admission and parking are free.

For more information, call (800) PSU-1010 toll-free from July 9 to August 16 or visit the Ag Progress Days Web site at http://apd.cas.psu.edu.

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EDITORS: For more information, contact Nancy Wilson at 814-863-5880 and naw6@psu.edu or Marilyn Furry at 814-863-7428.

Contacts:

Kim Dionis KDionis@psu.edu 814-863-2703 814-865-1068 fax