AgWest Farm Credit has awarded a $4,000 grant to MOSAIC Children’s Museum to assist in the build-out of an agriculturally themed exhibit designed to be an interactive, hands-on learning experience highlighting the heritage of agriculture in Yolo County.

The Museum hopes to open sometime within the next year and will be located at 120 Main St.

Featuring the local and regional agricultural products that local children and visitors might see as they drive through Yolo County, the exhibit, overseen by the Exhibit Committee Chair and newest MOSAIC Board member, Marianne Winger, is designed to tie together where our food originates to how it gets to our plates.

Anchored by a miniature barn with farm murals depicting local crops, the exhibit is closely related to both the community we live and work in and the community AgWest Farm Credit serves — agriculture, according to a local press release.

Within the barn the exhibit is a pulley system as well as an interactive garden where kids can plant and harvest vegetables, which then leads to the adjoining exhibits of a market/grocery store and finally to a food truck, exploring the full cycle of farm-to-fork while children learn through play.

This exhibit will inspire a greater understanding of agriculture as an industry and feature the tremendous technology used in farming today, requiring many of the STEM elements of science, technology, engineering, and math.

Future exhibits will explore the technology currently used in agriculture today, such as drones, GPS, and Artificial Intelligence.

“On behalf of the MOSAIC Children’s Museum Board, we would like to thank AgWest Farm Credit for this generous $4,000 grant that will support our agricultural exhibit at the new MOSAIC Children’s Museum in Woodland, California,” MOSAIC Board President Jennifer Cruickshank stated. “The money will assist in the purchase of exhibit items for the agricultural centerpiece that is sure to captivate and inspire visitors to the museum and increase our youngest visitor’s awareness of food production from field to fork. This will be a legacy asset to our community for years to come.

“We are putting final touches to the museum exhibits and wish to thank AgWest Farm Credit Services and the entire agricultural community for its generosity and support in featuring an industry upon which Yolo County was founded.”

Present for the awarding of a $4,000 check to MOSAIC, on behalf of AgWest Farm Credit, were Vice-President Anna Fricke, along with Cruickshank and Board Members Dave Mata, Julie Mata and Marianne Winger.

“At AgWest Farm Credit, we see ourselves as a steward of the communities that we serve,” Fricke stated. “Guided by our Local Advisory Committee (LAC), AgWest is proud to award $2.5 million to 40 organizations in communities throughout the West.

“As a cooperative, AgWest’s purpose is to champion agriculture by serving as the most trusted resource, helping their customers, employees and communities thrive. In pursuit of this purpose, AgWest developed a unique stewardship-giving program dedicated to helping rural communities. We are very proud to support MOSAIC Children’s Museum and look forward to its grand opening in Woodland and Yolo County.”

“The mission of MOSAIC Children’s Museum is to provide an environment that enlightens, inspires and empowers children in their lifelong learning journey while developing their imaginations and artistic capabilities,” board member Julie Mata said,

“MOSAIC encourages all community service organizations, businesses and individuals to donate towards the creation and completion of a children’s museum in Woodland by contacting us,” board member Dave Mata said. “We have numerous exhibit sponsorships still available as well as ongoing financial needs to complete our build-out.”

In July, the museum received a $10,000 development donation from The Rotary Club of Woodland.