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Saratoga County Fair
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Fair shows kids education can be fun
Attendees have a good time learning about science, history
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Photographer:
Barry Sloan
Joseph Cuva, 11, left, of Ballston Spa, peers into a microscope as his younger brother Richard Ebert, 3, looks on. A scarecrow lurks in the background at the Saratoga County Fair in Ballston Spa on Tuesday.
BALLSTON SPA — Children can have a lot of fun at the Saratoga County Fair, and if they’re not careful, they might learn some things too. Nancy Robertson, a 4-H community educator, was explaining on the fair’s opening day Tuesday some basic laws of physics to a group of children who were stacking pennies on a floating piece of aluminum foil. “The foil is like wide-bottomed boats you may see hauling great loads in a lake or an ocean,” she said. “A smaller boat would be too tippy, but the wide bottom allows for a heavier load.” Five-year-old Emma Nuzzi of Glenville was able to place 89 pennies on her aluminum-foil boat before it sank in a pan of water. Her cousin, Peter DiStefano, 8, of Ballston Spa, spread his pennies around and was able to place 206 before his foil dipped under the water. Robertson said Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County also brought microscopes to the fair to allow children to look at samples. She said it is hoped children will be interested in science, engineering and technology if they see it in a fun atmosphere. The 4-H building is filled with projects created by club members throughout the county, including birdhouses, homemade clothing, artwork and produce from local gardens. Just outside of the building, Ron Surdyka of Galway was dressed in a buckskin coat with a pistol tucked in his belt. Surdyka was personifying Dan Dan the Mountain Man, a character he has created as part of the living history program at the fair. His booth was lined with the skins of wild animals he said he acquired through hunting, trapping or road kill. “I’ve been volunteering at the 4-H Training Center for 21 years teaching shooting sports,” he said. “We train in rifles, air pistol and air rifles, muzzle loaders, shotguns and archery.” He said he has developed his mountain man character over the past couple of decades and has taken classes to learn how to teach history through story telling. “We do a great deal of research to learn how they dressed, how they lived and what happened to them,” he said. Children were invited to step up to his booth and make a beaded necklace or wooden top as he told them about life in 1845. “My stories don’t have to be exact, I’m not a re-enactor,” he said as he pulled on a skunk-skin hat he had made from one that had been trapped. A retired GE industrial engineer, Surdyka said he has a personal goal of presenting his stories to at least 2,000 people a year. “I can probably come close to that number right here at the fair,” he said. Fair spokeswoman Susan Farnsworth said she didn’t know the number of people who had walked through the gates at the fair on Tuesday but the conditions were perfect for a walk around the grounds. “We’re packed,” she said late in the afternoon. “We’re really pleased, and it’s been a great day with sunny skies, a little breeze and no humidity.” The Conservation Building contains a number of exhibits on nature, and there are dozens of mounted animals on display in the taxidermy exhibit. The next booth is staffed by volunteers from local hunting organizations. Bob Hodorowski of Saratoga is president of the local chapter of the White Tails, Unlimited organization. He said the group has seen the average age of its membership increase over the past several years. “The average age now is in the late 40s,” he said. “But we are starting to see younger hunters come with fathers who used to hunt and are now coming back to it.” He said a legislative bill on the governor’s desk would allow hunters as young as 14 to take big game with the supervision of an adult hunter. “We’re the only state in the country that does not allow big game hunting under the age of 16,” Hodorowski said. He said education on gun safety is the top priority of his organization and other clubs that focus on hunting. The fair continues through Sunday and is open from 9 a.m. to midnight. Admission is $7 for those over age 13, $3 for children ages 6 to 12 and under age 6 free. Today is senior citizens day and anyone over 65 will be admitted for $4 until 5 p.m.
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December 2, 2008
