CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Visitors to the Illinois State Fair who stop by the University of Illinois tent can get free orange Creamsicles or temporary tattoos of the UI logo and experience the World Wide Web on a set of blue iMac computers.
Other popular features in the UI booth will include Dr. Moolittle, the famous orange and blue cow from the Chicago Cows on Parade exhibit last summer, a daily football ticket giveaway, and an iMac video demonstration that will show fairgoers how to make their own iMovies.
University faculty, staff, students and alumni will greet fairgoers Aug. 11-20 from the UI tent, located in the Agri-Expo area, just off Main Street at the Springfield fairgrounds.
On alternating days, visitors will be treated either to free Creamsicles or a temporary UI logo tattoo. Children can get their faces painted, get paper hats with pig or cow ears, and see bones and skeletons of such animals as miniature horses, a Great Dane, a cat and draft horse. The College of Veterinary Medicine will have microscopes set up for visitors to get a close-up look at fleas and ticks, and veterinarians will be on hand to answer questions about animal health.
Children can try on athletic shoes, jerseys and shoulder pads, just like the ones the Fighting Illini football players wear. Adults will be able to put their names in for a daily drawing for two tickets to the Middle Tennessee game on September 2. There will also be televisions featuring highlights of UI games.
In addition, fair-goers will have the opportunity to view travel videos and foreign-language films and sample "Illini blue" fortune cookies. They also can walk away with recipes and souvenir flags, and can even have the flag du jour painted on one of their hands. Factual information about the countries also will be available, and visitors can even take a quiz to test their knowledge of the various nations.
The UI Theater, which is located nearby in the middle of the Agri-Expo area, will feature performances by the Other Guys, an a cappella singing group that is part of the UI Varsity Men's Glee Club. The Physics Van also will be on hand to show off an entertaining routine of experiments with electricity, sound and force. Other entertainers from the UIUC campus include the UI's premier show choir, the Cutting Edge, and another a cappella singing group, the Xtension Chords.
The Wildlife Medical Clinic will present demonstrations on endangered animals and feature some of the clinic's resident birds, including a great horned owl and a red-tailed hawk.
"We want Illinois residents to know how they benefit from the university," said Steve Schomberg, associate chancellor. "The fair gives us an opportunity to do that."