Contact: Pam McCurdy, 651-757-2559
St. Paul, Minn. — Visitors to a new exhibit at the Eco Experience at the Minnesota State Fair will have a chance to get up close and personal with the bugs that live in Minnesota lakes and streams. Different species tolerate different amounts of water pollution, so knowing which bugs live near a lake or stream can tell scientists how healthy the water body is. At the Eco Experience, fairgoers will look at a variety of real insects under a microscope and learn what those insects tell us about water quality.
In another new Eco Experience display, visitors will take an imaginary trip in time to think about cold, snowy Minnesota winters. What happens to all the salt that is applied to icy sidewalks and roads? As it turns out, salt washes into water bodies like lakes. Fish, insects and plants don't tolerate salty water well, and the salt doesn't leave. Learn what you can do to help at the Eco Experience.
Other water exhibits to put on your must-see list include a rain garden learning station where visitors can get their photo taken with a flower mask of their choice, and returning favorite activities like determining water clarity with a Secchi disk.
As always come to the Eco Experience’s water area to fill up your reusable drinking bottle from our water refilling station. The cold, filtered city water is free!
About the Eco Experience
A partnership between the Minnesota State Fair, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and more than 150 organizations and businesses across the state, the Eco Experience has become the second most popular exhibit at the fair. The Eco Experience is the largest environmental event of its kind, nationally, in the last two decades. Since 2006, almost 2.5 million visitors have attended the 25,000-square-foot exhibit to learn more about clean air and water, saving energy, climate change, recycling, healthy local food, transportation, green building and remodeling, and other ways to lead more eco-friendly lives. Look for more information on the Eco Experience website.
