Farm Show: The Exhibit Goes Up

Before I followed the crew to Harrisburg I asked “How long will it take to put the exhibit up?”. I was told about two hours. That was a good answer since we all had our eye on the weather and were hoping to travel between ice storms. When I saw the amount of materials in the back of the truck, and the size of some of the structural components, I knew two hours was an optimistic appraisal.  Confirmation came as Rick Johnson struggled to remove an electrical cord from an overhead girder that eventually involved some dismantling of the piece.

Andy Ofalt, Network and Technical Specialist, worked to make sure all the computers would work and the wireless network was functioning and secure.

Mary Seaton, Director of the Office of Conferences and Short Courses, was busy transporting equipment and displays delivered by our truck to her exhibit space in another location. Mary will be working in the energy display that is a collaborative effort between Penn State and the Department of Agriculture. If you are looking for information on natural gas, renewable energy, and other energy related questions specific to Pennsylvania make sure you put this exhibit on your list.

Once the structure of the exhibit began to go up I could really appreciate the complexity of planning, design, and production that goes into this event. Rick and Garo worked together to put the framework together and things started to look different in a hurry.

Once the poles and girders were locked together the more time consuming work of inserting the panels into a large grid. But things were looking good for the exhibit but any hopes of traveling between the ice were diminishing.

Two hours. Sure...  (grin)