The Iowa State Fair, an annual Iowa tradition that will be held at the state fairgrounds in Des Moines Aug. 12-22, will feature a multitude of exhibits from ISU this year.

Carole Custer, coordinator of the main ISU state fair exhibit, said ISU will feature two of its legacies at the northeast corner of the Varied Industries Building.

The Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) replica is a model of the first electronic digital computer, which was invented by former ISU professor John Atanasoff and ISU graduate student Clifford Berry .

The exhibit also will showcase the PrISUm Phoenix, the solar car that placed fifth at a national race last month.

“The wonderful solar car — which placed the highest it’s ever placed in the national competition and is the recipient of the Best Use of Technology Award in the national race — will be a popular part of the exhibit because it really shows what students at Iowa State are doing to advance technology,” said Custer, director of university marketing.

She said hundreds of thousands of fair-goers will pass by the exhibit during the fair’s run.

“The purpose of the exhibit is to use the Iowa State Fair as a place where we can really tell the university story to thousands of people,” she said.

“It gives all the people of Iowa the opportunity to see how Iowa State is advancing technology to become the best,” Custer said.

The exhibit also will include daily drawings for Cyclone T-shirts and tickets to football games and Iowa State Center events.

“Another part of the exhibit, which usually gets lots of attention, is the admissions area, where university officials will be on hand to talk to prospective students and their parents,” she said.

Custer said it is difficult to know how many people apply to ISU as a result of talking to staff at the fair.

However, the university has tracked many people who first found out about ISU through the exhibit and later enrolled in the university.

“The exhibit offers students in their very initial stages of choosing where to go to school an opportunity to chat about the benefits of Iowa State,” she said.

ISU’s display will contain several other features, Custer said.

“The university’s new CD-ROM about the university will be shown. The university’s new commercials for the year will also be shown, and the ever-popular Cyclone temporary tattoos will be applied to fair-goers,” she said.

In addition to the main ISU exhibit, there will be displays from ISU Extension, Ames Lab, the College of Agriculture and WOI radio.

Elaine Edwards, co-coordinator of the Extension exhibits, said there will be a display on carbon monoxide on the east side of the grand stand.

“We’re going to be having information on carbon monoxide poisoning, and we’re going to have a miniature house so they can see how carbon monoxide moves through their house and how they can prevent that,” said Edwards, Extension communication specialist.

She said the exhibit will include a survey on carbon monoxide. Free carbon monoxide detectors also will be given out.

Former ISU basketball coach Johnny Orr will visit the exhibit to talk about his own experience with carbon monoxide poisoning a few years ago.

“He feels strongly about preventing carbon monoxide poisoning and teaching people about it,” Edwards said.

Extension also will have 4-H displays all over the fair.

“We have thousands of 4-H displays, presentations and animal and horticultural exhibits, and then 4-H’ers also daily have a ‘Share the Fun’ program in the 4-H building,” she said. “There are also demonstrations and working exhibits.”

Barbara McManus, communications specialist for the College of Agriculture, helped organize the college’s exhibit, titled “Iowa Agriculture: A Rich Heritage—An Exciting Future.”

The exhibit will be held on the second floor of the agriculture building and will outline the history of the college at ISU.

“The purpose was to highlight some of the achievements our researchers and scientists have done over the years,” she said.

There will also be drawings fair-goers can enter.

“We’ll have daily prizes that people can register for: The College of Ag mug and a one-year membership to Living History Farms [in Des Moines],” she said.

Ames’ WOI radio station will share an exhibit with ISU Extension in the Hall of Flame underneath the grandstand.

William McGinley, general manager of WOI radio, said the station’s “two significant locally produced programs” will be broadcast live from the fair.

Midday, a news magazine on agriculture, arts and culture, and an all-topic call-in show, Talk of Iowa, will be broadcast from the fair throughout the nine days.

“If [fair-goers] are walking by during those two shows they might be able to participate,” he said. “We’re going to be taking questions from people there as well as phoners.”

One to five minute market reports will also be broadcast throughout each day.

The WOI/extension exhibit will feature memorabilia from the station.

“They can also pick up the famous WOI corn butterer,” McGinley said. “We figured for the fair, what better device than a corn butterer?”

“We will also have our standard fare of membership guides, brochures and bookmarks,” he said.

WOI staff members and on-air personalities will be at the exhibit, McGinley said.

“It’s WOI’s reaching into the community at one of the most popular gathering places in Iowa to meet and greet our friends and listeners, and their opportunity to put a voice with a face,” he said.