Kids will get an opportunity to learn about and interact with sheep, pigs, cattle, goats and potentially horses at the Block and Bridle’s Animal Learning Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Hansen Agricultural Student Learning Center.

Farm animals are a huge part of the entire state of Iowa. In fact, pigs outnumber people seven to one in Iowa, according to a report done by the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

“The main focus is bringing the public into the agricultural eye and to learn more about animals,” said Taylor Howell, a fourth-year animal science student, on the importance of this event to not just kids but the community as a whole. 

“There’s a couple different commodity groups that’ll do different feed ration activities and a different club will put together little trivia activities and games for kids to interact with and learn some different animal and agriculture facts,” Howell said.

There will be classroom activities offering educational experiences related to agriculture. Block and Bridle will provide games, worksheets and live demonstrations to engage students in learning about farming and its importance.

This is the ninth year that Block and Bridle has hosted this event.

The event is free for all. There will be a Taste of Iowa section that will provide a free lunch for everyone attending. 

“It’s important to learn about being safe with animal agriculture and just learning how to act on animals and to know how many different pieces that we use to raise animals in production,” Howell said.