New Exhibit!

Green NC

Take an interactive tour through the Green NC home, garage and farm, and learn how the house you live in, the car you drive, and the food you eat all affect the world around you.

Follow a scavenger hunt to reveal the top 10 eco-friendly things that you can do to have a positive, sustainable impact on your environment, then receive a reusable grocery bag or tie-dye T-shirt as a prize.

Green NC displays will highlight energy-efficient lighting, smart climate control devices, alternative fuels and renewable energy sources like solar, wind and biofuels, locally grown foods, recycling programs, water conservation and more.

Attention Teachers: Look for the News & Observer NIE Supplement featuring classroom materials about energy conservation and awareness, coming this fall.

Field of Dreams

Children are invited to spend some time on the Fair’s miniature farm to learn more about the connection between the farm and the dinner table.

Kids can pick up a basket at the entrance and pick crops such as apples, strawberries and cucumbers and learn about other crops and how they turn into everyday staples, such as peanut butter and cereal. After picking the crops, children can then “sell” their harvest at the Field of Dreams Farmers Market for fair money. The money can then be spent at the Field of Dreams Grocery Store.

New features to this exhibit include a resting area for parents and a greenhouse. And don't forget to stop by the photo op site just outside of the exhibit for a great fall family photo.

Presented by the N.C. Farm Bureau and the NCDA&CS, this exhibit also includes a coloring contest, storytelling center and a photo area where families can take a snapshot from their day at the “farm.” Open daily from 9 a.m. to 9:45 p.m.

Got To Be NC Agriculture

Discover food products from across North Carolina at the Got to Be NC Agriculture exhibit, located just outside the Scott Building. The exhibit displays North Carolina’s agricultural diversity and educates fairgoers on what products they can find locally. Food and nursery products from the Goodness Grows in North Carolina and the Freshness from North Carolina Waters programs will be available for fairgoers to taste and purchase. Food producers and companies with a variety of samples will change throughout the week.

NC State Fair Ark

North Carolina’s diverse production of livestock is featured at the State Fair Ark, as more than 60 animals are exhibited. Fairgoers can see cattle, sheep, goats, swine and learn more about the various breeds of farm animals raised in North Carolina. The Ark’s Avenue of Champions will feature grand and reserve champions from the junior market steer, lamb, goat, turkey and barrow shows. Visitors also can milk a cow with the help of volunteers from the N.C. State University Animal Science Club. The Ark is located in the Exposition Center and will be open from 9 a.m. to 9:45 p.m.