Agriculture Mechanics Students Showcase Projects at Santa Barbara County Fair
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - While hundreds of local agriculture students show off their animal projects at the Santa Barbara County Fair, agriculture mechanics students0 are also putting their talents on display at the industrial arts exhibit.
Located in the Convention Center, this year's Agricultural Mechanics show and auction features 172 impressive student-made projects.
"These student projects, they take a lot of time," said Carolina Hileman, Industrial Arts Superintendent. "They take preparation. The creativity of these projects are far beyond what I can expect, and I love to see all the new projects and things that you don't typically see."
Just like agriculture students, these industrial arts students must also enrolled in a qualified 4-H, FFA, Grange or Independent program.
"They're learning hard work, dedication, the trade," said Hileman. "I feel like this kind of trade is a lost art, and I love to see the kids learning it again."
Also similar to the livestock show and auction, the industrial arts projects are also judged and later auctioned off to the highest bidder.
"What I really love is the ingenuity of these projects that these kids come up with," said Hileman. "Some of them are sculptures, some of them are things that you don't think of, but then you look at it and you're like, 'I have to have that.'"
Some of the projects may only take a few days to complete, while others may take much longer, lasting weeks or even months to finish.
"A lot of these projects you have to be very precise and handy with tools because you can miss cut miss measure crack boards when trying to like put them together all that, so it's very hard," said Arroyo Grande High School FFA student Brady Robertson. "They can take a lot of time."
Four of the larger-sized projects will be auctioned off during a live auction on Saturday, while the rest are available for bid through a silent auction that ends on Sunday at 5 p.m.
The Santa Barbara County Fair will run through Sunday, July 12th.
Gates open at noon during the weekends and at 2 p.m. on weekdays and close each night at 10 p.m.
For more information about the Santa Barbara County Fair, click here to visit the official website.
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