AGtropolis at Oklahoma fair draws young, young at heart

The City of AGtropolis, an interactive exhibit in the Oklahoma Expo Hall, drew both the young and young at heart for firsthand experiences of farm life.

Sheena Dobbs, of Cordell, smiled as she watched her three children peer at baby chicks in one area of the exhibit.

When FFA volunteer Kriston Niblack, 16, of Luther, offered to let Carter Dobbs touch a tiny chick, the 4-year-old's eyes grew wide with wonder as his mother looked on.

“My kids love this,” Sheena Dobbs said.

“They're so cute and fluffy,” she said of the baby animals.

Live animals such as the chicks seemed to be a huge part of the AGtropolis attraction, along with the Honey Bee Haven bee exhibit, adult chickens and roosters in the “Egg Plant,” a Butterfly Birthing Center and a make-believe farmer's market. The exhibit was manned by helpful FFA volunteers like Niblack who said they enjoy bringing farm-related experiences to city slickers.

Amanda Wallace and her daughter, Leila, 5, of Shawnee, watched a honey extraction demonstration with interest Friday.

When Rick Schantz with the Central Oklahoma Beekeepers Association gave fairgoers an opportunity to taste the honey from his bees, the mother-daughter duo didn't hesitate to catch some of the sweet substance on their fingers as it drizzled from a spout.