Sticky, gooey glitter snot. Squirt guns. Vials of mucus. Sound appealing?
There’s no question the Swientist booth is one of the most popular stops for youth swine exhibitors at The Exposition and the National Junior Summer Spectacular. In fact, Andrew Bowman, associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at The Ohio State University, says it’s common to find a line of kids waiting for Swientist booth organizers to arrive at the show.
“Some of those kids will come back multiple times during the day with different groups of friends,” Bowman says. “By their third visit, they are teaching the lesson!”
So why all the craze?
Madison Jensen teaches young exhibitors at The Exposition about how infectious diseases can spread.
A Full-Blown Success
What started as a small side project to educate youth about influenza and the importance of biosecurity has grown into a full-blown program run by Jacqueline Nolting, research scientist in the Animal Influenza Ecology and Epidemiology Research Program at The Ohio State University.
“Reducing influenza transmission at fairs is crucial to both agriculture and public health,” Bowman says. “Reducing the transmission of influenza and other pathogens between pigs and people at swine shows will allow exhibition traditions to continue while improving animal and human health.”
The topics of biosecurity, immunology and virology are not generally sought out by youth, Bowman explains. But the Swientist booth has found a way to turn these important topics into exciting lessons to take on the road to meet kids where they are going to be showing pigs.
“We have developed age-appropriate, hands-on learning activities based on constructivist learning theories to increase awareness of the animal and human health risks associated with exhibition swine and to teach practices to mitigate those risks,” he says. “Parents often ask us for copies of the lessons for 4-H meetings, school classrooms, etc.”
The Swientist program is heavily focused on long-term effects. Although the activities help improve awareness and knowledge of influenza and other zoonotic diseases among rural youth, Bowman says they are also trying to motivate youth to take steps to prevent the spread of flu and other pathogens (both swine to human and human to swine).
Carla Nemecek always enjoys hearing about what the kids learned from the Swientist.
“The Swientist booth utilizes curiosity, hands-on learning and problem-solving to teach our kids about biosecurity. All traits that we need in agriculture, and especially the swine industry. They have found a way to be creative and make it a fun activity for our kids,” says Kansas stock show mom Carla Nemecek. “The downtime during a show is appreciated! I always enjoy hearing the kids’ perspective on what they learned.”
Beyond that, the Swientist booth teaches youth about rules, guidelines and best practices for disease prevention in animals and humans, all while increasing their awareness of careers in public and animal health.
For Kinley Beyers, biosecurity protects her family’s livelihood.
Just Ask the Kids
Kinley Beyers, an 11-year-old exhibitor from Sibley, Ill., says she enjoys stopping by the Swientist booth at the pig shows.
“Swientist teaches us how to take care of our pigs and help us to understand why we need to keep clean around our pigs,” Beyers says. “It’s important so that your pigs don’t get sick so that you can go and show them in shows and win things and have the pleasure of doing that. We need to use biosecurity so pigs don’t get sick in the first place.”
Youth also learn the importance of being a good neighbor and thinking about how their actions impact others.
Kolten Lewis thought it was fun to build a biosecurity bucket at The Exposition to take back to the farm.
Kolten Lewis, a 10-year-old exhibitor from Center Point, Iowa, says he’s learned a lot about biosecurity and how to put it to use on his family’s pork operation. He says the games are fun and it challenges him.
“Biosecurity is very important and making sure your pigs don’t get diseases. If you go on other people’s farms and don’t follow biosecurity plans, you could spread diseases,” Lewis says. “Other ways are feed trucks, people from different countries coming to the U.S. and carrying it on your boots.”
For 7-year-old Lily Grobosky of Alexis, Ill., the Swientist booth provides her with a fun activity every day at the show that she can do with her mom.
“The Swientist booth is something both my daughter and I look forward to at every national show we attend,” says Shelia Grobosky, Lily’s mother. “I appreciate the fact that the folks from Ohio State University take very important subject matter and simplify it for my 7-year-old daughter in a fun, easy-to-relate manner, but then take time to expand on those lessons with me more thoroughly so that I can implement these lessons in our own show barn. Often, Lily and I will talk about the Swientist lessons months after we have learned them, and we will refresh our memories the next winter when pig shopping why wearing disposable booties is so important.”
Shelia Grobosky says the Swientist has taught her and her daughter so many important things about keeping their pigs and their family safe, clean and healthy.
What Does it Cost?
One of the most popular questions Bowman and his team get asked is “What does it cost?” People want to pay for their kids or grandkids to take part in the fun activities Swientist offers.
“Swine exhibitions often serve as the face of the pork industry to the general public and for many people these are the only opportunities to see, touch and interact with pigs,” Bowman says. “Exhibition swine programs serve as a way to introduce youth to swine production and establish an interest in the industry. It is highly likely that today’s youth swine exhibitors will be the next generation of U.S. pork producers and are the future of the industry.”
The Swientist program is funded by a joint effort of federal government (CDC and USDA) and the Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE). Learn more here.
The program has steadily grown into one of the more recognizable faces of the influenza efforts at Ohio State, Bowman says.
From thought-provoking lessons to hands-on learning opportunities, there’s something for everyone at the Swientist booth. And the swag’s not too bad either, participants say.
“Added bonus: we have the coolest Swientist stickers on everything from a scooter to a showbox,” Nemecek says.
Editor’s Note: The Illinois Pork Producers Association will be hosting a Swientist workshop on Wed., Aug. 10 during the Illinois State Fair. The workshop will begin at 4 p.m. in the barrow barn show ring followed by a 5:45 p.m. pizza party. Each participant will be awarded a free “biosecurity bucket” filled with essentials, courtesy of The Ohio State University. After completing four stations learning about human and animal health, the goal is for exhibitors to take the bucket home and put it into action using the skills they learned from the workshop. Pork Checkoff dollars and funds from The Ohio State University were used to host this event free of charge to junior swine exhibitors. Learn more.
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