Indiana State Fair

A couple of weeks ago we took a trip to the Indiana State Fair.  It had been many years since our last trip to a state fair and this was my 5 year old's first visit ever to any state fair.  I've been to state fairs in several different states and they are all somewhat similar, at least in the Midwest.  I guess I have no clue if a state fair on the east or west coast is any different than a Midwest state fair.  We had fun walking around, eating unhealthy food, riding a few midway rides (more on this in a separate post), and had a chance to walk through the Swine Hall filled with, to no surprise, swine.

The first swine pen we came to contained this "little" fellow:

It was the middle of a hot day and most of the pigs were resting, but wow, that's a big pig!  My daughters were just as amazed as my wife and I.  Later we visited another farm animal area and had a chance to feed sheep.

That's my 5 year old feeding this young sheep.  As a kid I grew up on a farm and although we didn't have pigs or sheep, we did have goats.  At a young age I learned how to hand milk goats and feed them.  Goats eat a lot of different things!  As kids my siblings and I would lead the goats around to different areas and in general, had a blast playing outside with the goats.  My wife, and now my daughters, didn't grow up on farms, so aren't used to interacting with farm animals.  The state fair is a great way to introduce non-farm kids to farm animals.  And they think it is super cool!  

So I end with a recommendation of state fairs, or even county fairs.  Take your kids to a fair with animals and let them explore.  Splurge on the 25 cents it takes to buy a handful of food and let them feed the sheep, goat, etc.  It's an experience they will not forget!