BonnerSprings.com

Opening day of the 2010 season at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame may have been marked by temperatures in the 40s, but the visitor turnout by Tuesday afternoon had reached an impressive mid-70s.

“It’s busier than what I expected on a first day, on such a chilly day,” said volunteer Virgina Boedeker of the estimated 75 visitors, including 37 children from KinderCare, a daycare center in Overland Park, that had visited the center by around 12:30 Tuesday afternoon. “Things have been going very nicely. It’s very nice to see so many people here.”

Visitors to the facility included those from Lawrence, Baldwin City and even Oskaloosa, Iowa. Upon finding out his parents would be taking him and his brother Andrew to Kansas City for spring break, Alex Klawitter, from Oskaloosa, asked them if they could go back, for the second time, to visit the Ag Hall of Fame – the family had visited before on a previous trip to Kansas City.

Alex and his brother spent much of the morning grinding corn in the barn next-door to the Smith House, an exhibit on the Ag Hall grounds.

“It’s cool, because you actually get to see how (grinding corn) works,” said Alex, adding that if he could have a corn grinder of his own at his house in Oskaloosa, he would.

Inside the main building’s east wing, where a more up-to-date exhibit documenting the results of agriculture and farming is located, was Pam Saunders, who was visiting the facility for the first time with her husband and three grandchildren in tow.

“I really didn’t know what to expect … I’m a little overwhelmed right now,” Saunders said. “It’s just more than I expected and we haven’t even seen everything.”

In the Hall of Fame, where portraits and biographies of the men and women who have contributed to agriculture and farming are proudly displayed, was Laurel Sewing of Lawrence, who found some real-world application from the framed portraits.

“Well, I’ve noticed that a lot of the biographies are intertwined with what I’m learning in history and science also, and I think it’s neat to learn how they fit together,” Sewing said.

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