Celebrate the Glass Barn’s 10th anniversary and volunteer at the Indiana State Fair

BY DAVE BLOWER JR.

More than 10 years ago, Indiana soybean growers decided to build something to educate millions of people about how soybeans are grown and why it is an important crop. The Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) unveiled the Glass Barn to the public in 2013.

During the 2023 Indiana State Fair, July 28 through Aug. 20, ISA will celebrate the Glass Barn’s 10th anniversary opening its doors to the public to educate on modern farming practices and introduce them to family farms. To do that, ISA seeks volunteers to work in the Glass Barn during the Fair.

Volunteers who work a 4-hour shift will receive a ticket to the Indiana State Fair, a free parking pass, a free t-shirt and a meal coupon. ISA needs more than 200 volunteers to staff the Glass Barn during this year’s State Fair. Volunteers will help visitors take part in various hands-on Glass Barn exhibits such as operating the interactive combine simulator, playing the BeanGo game to earn this year’s Glass Barn hat, taking photos in the Picture You booths and answering quiz questions about Indiana agriculture during live virtual Farmer Chats for prizes.

“The Glass Barn is celebrating 10 years at the Indiana State Fair, and in those 10 years we’ve been able to tell our story to millions of people,” said ISA Chair Mike Koehne, a farmer from Greensburg, Ind. “Having farmers and friends who are passionate about agriculture is vital to educating the public. Volunteering is fun and easy. We hope to have a record number of farmers sign up and participate this year. If you haven’t volunteered before, it is a good experience. I encourage everyone to try it at least once.

To volunteer, email beanteam@indianasoybean.com. Volunteers may also contact ISA Consumer Outreach Manager Ben Linder by email at blinder@indianasoybean.com or by phone at 317-644-2857.

Those who can’t volunteer this year are encouraged to visit the Glass Barn during the Indiana State Fair. In recent years, ISA updated some of the Glass Barn’s most popular exhibits, which now include a combine simulator, soybean farming video game and an updated photobooth with new backgrounds. The popular Glass Barn’s WeGrow Theater will once again feature live farmer chats at 11 a.m., 2 and 4 p.m. each day.

In recent years, ISA updated some of the Glass Barn’s most popular exhibits. The video game, “Soy You Think You Can Farm,” teaches visitors about agriculture from planting to harvest. But the games have been moved to old-school-style, arcade cabinets.

The Bean Market also received a facelift. In this interactive experience, visitors will scan items on a grocery list and learn how soybeans play a role in their development. Items like newspapers, birthday candles, ice cream and hot dogs can be scanned to complete the shopping list.

Along with the Glass Barn, soybeans will have an increased presence at other places around the fair this year. Such as:

• Soy biodiesel will again power the State Fair’s Midway rides and tractor shuttles.

• In a partnership with the Indiana FFA, SynLawn turf is used on the putt-putt golf course in the FFA Pavilion. About 15,000 consumers play putt-putt each year.

For additional information about the Glass Barn, go online to www.glassbarn.org.