A variety of educational displays and special entertainment will be part of the UW-Madison and UW-Extension Day at the Dodge County Fair Aug. 16.

Fairgoers will be able to interact with UW-Madison faculty and staff and UW-Extension specialists at hands-on educational displays in and around the youth building from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We are coming to the Dodge County Fair to show the broad range of ways we do outreach around the state,” says Tricia Dickinson, marketing director for UW-Madison, which is partnering to present the event with UW-Extension. “As fun, cool and exciting as these activities are, we’re glad to have the opportunity to share the ways in which the university helps the state,” Dickinson adds.

Educational programs for communities, businesses, farmers, families and youth are offered through the Dodge County UW-Extension office. These programs are supported by UW-Madison research, connecting people with university resources. These research connections – offered for 125 years through the Dodge County Fair and 100 years through Cooperative Extension — will be featured through educational displays.

The area outside of the youth building also will feature UW-Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health “Survey of the Health of Wisconsin” (SHOW) van. The van is a rolling educational lab teaching people about how medical experts capture information on the health of Wisconsin residents and how those results identify needs and target resources where they are most needed.

One of the School of Engineering’s formula vehicles also will be on display outside of the youth building. The vehicles are designed and constructed by engineering students.

UW-Madison’s official mascot, Bucky Badger, will make a special guest appearance around noon on the fairgrounds. He hopes to bring with him a few musical surprises from the Madison campus.