Exhibit meetings

The new silo exhibit is in a very interesting stage right now. We are working with the exhibit team to solidify the overarching message and theme. I think people would be surprised to know how much time and thought go into museum exhibits. When you walk through the Museum of Science and Industry for example, the exhibits there have very defined learning objectives. If you step back and look at how much space they dedicate to a certain theme, the order of the display panels and placement of the interactives you can pick up the message the designers intended the public to come away with. Another example that I found interesting is Fair Oaks Farm. Immediately after the admission gate, there is an exhibit the public walks through. Being a large scale active dairy you might think their first exhibit would be about cows. Instead, it was on wildlife and conservation. The key point being, a large dairy, properly managed can exist harmoniously with the surrounding ecosystem.

So what are we going to do with the silo exhibit at Wagner Farm? Right now we have four stages that when combined tell a really interesting story about silos. Our first stop is really basic, what is a silo? Then we will go deeper with the evolution of silos, what is silage and finish with, the process of filling and packing a silo. We are working on narrowing the overarching message. At this point we have a couple messages that need to be honed. I personally like, "Silos- It's what's inside that counts". As you might be able to tell we are having a lot of fun working on the exhibit.

Feeding Daisy

About two weeks ago, Daisy was born. She is doing very well and I thought it would be fun to put a video on the blog of today's noon feeding.

My wheat project

For a speech that I have to give next month on wheat I thought it would be interesting to take some for a little show and tell. With a greenhouse on site it has been easy to start plantings. I have been amazed at how fast it is growing. Of course, I have been using Miracle-Grow, growlights and a heating pad. I am about 4 weeks since planting. I hope the plants will have stalks started before my presentation.

Big numbers for Lilly

Lilly is just over a week into her lactation cycle and is already putting up some really great numbers. Today she posted over 80 total pounds of milk for the combined AM and PM milkings. Daisy is doing well and is a very playful little girl. Come by and see them. We are doing milking demonstrations in the heritage center Monday-Saturday at 4:30 PM

Introducing our new intern

Every year we offer a six month long internship at Wagner Farm. It is a great opportunity to learn a little more about the daily ins and outs of a working museum. To give our internship a wide range of experience we have them manage the soda fountain, lead school tours, help with chores, develop an event, accession items into the collection and do research.
For 2011 the Wagner Farm intern will be Patrick McGuire. Patrick is 25 years old and is currently a student in the Historical Administration Masters' program at Eastern Illinois University. Patrick grew up in Hickory Hills, Illinois and is no stranger to museum work. Before starting graduate school he was a man of many trades at Naper Settlement in Naperville, Illinois. We expect Patrick to join the crew in late May. Good luck and welcome abord.

Disappearing act

With the temperature hitting the 50's it is really amazing how fast we can loose 22 inches of snow. Of course that means we now have a lot of mud to deal with.

Meet Daisy

Mata and her family have come up with the creative and fitting name of Daisy for the daughter of Lilly.

Happy Valentines Day

This morning Lilly gave birth to a healthy daughter. Mata, Augie and Hans are still working on a name. Congratulations guys!

A first look

About a year ago the Farm was given a 90+ year old wooden silo. If you have driven the country much you have no doubt seen hundreds of silos. The question is, do you know what they are used for? Because a lot of people don't know that answer we thought it would be a great addition to the current exhibits at the Farm. Our dream was to stand the 30 plus foot silo in the Heritage Center and get people inside of it to learn about the history of the silo, how they were made and what they were used for. To develop this idea, Wagner staff has been working with exhibit designer Kevin Snow of Ravenswood Studio to create this new exhibit. For the blog, I thought it would be neat to periodically show the steps that we are going through for this project.
At this point we have taken the concept drawings and showed them to the building commissioner to see what code and access issues we will need to consider. We have also taken the plans to a structural engineer to better understand the design elements that will need to be included to ensure a strong, safe exhibit. By doing these steps early in the process we will hopefully have a design that is approved on the first round of reviews.
So what does a silo hold? Silage. This is green corn (stock,ear and all) that has been chopped into small bits for cattle feed. The silage actually ferments and makes a hot, sweet feed that the animals absolutely love.

Getting down at the farm

Last night the farm hosted an 8th grade dance from our local parish, OLPH. We rent out the heritage center for all kinds of events but it is just funny to see the place being used for something so different than the museum that it is. Justin Bieber rocks, or at least that is what the kids say.

Moving the mess

For those of you in the Chicago area you are likely tired of hearing about snow. We all got more than we wanted. The dig-out continues here at the farm. Lake Avenue, the road that runs along our south border, had a monster drift from the farm extending into the north lane of Lake Ave. To tackle the problem the State brought a couple loaders to try to move the drifts. After a short while they gave up and went home. Next they brought out the biggest snow blower I have ever seen. This thing was able to chew up and spit out an entire lane's worth of snow in one pass. Very impressive.

Twenty-two inches of snow

We made it through the Blizzard of 2011!

A real honor

This past week at the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association conference, the Wagner Feed blog was chosen as the overall winner of the "Best Use of Electronic Communications" for the entire the state. I have to say, I was amazed and very honored to have the site recognized. The funny thing is I started writing the blog because so many people asked me, "what's going on at the farm?" I really don't have much to say and the work we do here isn't that important in the overall scheme of things. But we, the folks who work here and the volunteers who pitch in, are having so much fun that it is something we want to share.

I will confess it is somewhat intimidating to put yourself out there. While I'm no artist or performer I felt the weight of "what will they think of this?". I didn't want the blog to be a dry company line type of thing, but I also didn't want it to be sappy. So I just kind of closed my eyes and let my voice make the posts for me. One thing that made it easier when I first started writing was the thought of one my regular readers. When the blog began, my Dad was in the middle of a real fight with cancer. He and my Mom had always been super supportive and often made the long trek from our farm in Iowa to most Wagner events. But with his health deteriorating, travel became nearly impossible. By posting, I was able to bring Mom and Dad to the farm everyday. I know it meant a lot to him in those last days. Even though he is gone, I still write with him in mind.

So, thanks to all of the folks who have helped make this blog. And finally, not to sound too cheeky but thanks to all of you who have taken the time to check in to see what we're up to. I have appreciated the company.

Morning of the 2nd

Most of the crew made it in this morning to help with chores and shoveling. We have 19" and it is still coming down hard. Sure makes for some interesting views.

Here we go!

For the last couple days all the weather forecasters could talk about was how big of storm was about to hit us. It started this afternoon at about 3:00 and so far it has lived up to the hype. Jeff has made his rounds and all of the animals are tucked into their warm and cozy stalls for the night.