DNR to Offer Sustainable Living & Interactive Children in Nature Exhibits at Maryland State Fair Beginning Friday, Aug. 22
Saturday, Aug. 23 is Natural Resources Day at the Maryland State Fair

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TIMONIUM, MD – The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will offer interactive exhibits at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium from Friday, Aug. 22 through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1 at a new exhibit area. DNR’s exhibit showcasing sustainable ideas that citizens implement at home and work will be on the second floor of the new Maryland State Fair building along with the State Fair museum next to the 4-H Home Arts facility.

“I hope that people will stop by DNR’s new state fair exhibit to learn about what we can do to help them protect our environment,” said DNR Secretary John R. Griffin. “We invite fair goers to experience a virtual journey through the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and learn how they can help us protect, restore, appreciate and enjoy in Maryland’s great outdoors.”

The Chesapeake Bay is home to more than 400,000 acres of land, thousands of miles of streams, multitudes of fish, mammals, birds and reptiles and the biggest estuary in North America. At DNR’s interactive exhibit area, participants can learn about Chesapeake Bay Restoration efforts including oysters, bay grasses and nutrient reduction. Many of the necessary, sometimes slimy but always fun things found in the Bay and its tributaries will be on hand for a totally interactive, up-close-and-personal experience. Touch and feel everything from bay grasses to turtles and snakes.

Some of the highlights of the DNR exhibits at this year’s fair include:

• Children in Nature Exhibits – Discover fun and simple activities you can do with your children to get them outside. Information will also be available on new programs and opportunities from various state agencies.

• River of Words Award Ceremony – The contest winners from Maryland will be announced and awarded prizes at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23. Finalists poems and artwork can be viewed online at http://www.dnr.maryland.gov/education/are/row/

• DNR Staging Areas – Enjoy live presentations with hands on activities and games daily in the new building and on the lawn. Learn how to save energy in your home and better utilize resources through conservation, recycling and composting.

• State Park of the Day – Each day showcases one of Maryland’s 49 state parks. Volunteers from highlighted parks will share items of interest from their parks and teach visitors more about the diversity of Maryland’s state park system from Point Lookout State Park on the bay to Green Ridge State Forest in the Allegany Mountains.

• Unique Weekend Programming – The Volunteer Mounted Patrol will be on hand with horses to educate citizens about the many tasks they help provide at various state parks. Employees of our Western Maryland parks will have a canon on display and discussing the life and times of soldiers during the Civil War.

For more information about DNR’s exhibits, presentations and activities at the State Fair look for DNR’s entire State Fair schedule on our Web site at www.dnr.maryland.gov/statefair/ or call 1-877-620-8DNR x-8006.

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August 19, 2008

Contact: John Wald 410-260-8006 office I 410-533-2928 cell jwald@dnr.state.md.us

Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 449,000 acres of public lands and 17,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 12 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov