At this year’s Minnesota State Fair:

• We’ll show you some fun and fascinating historical medical devices from the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine.
• We’ll test your knowledge with a health fact or fiction quiz created by the Bio-Medical Library.
• And Minitex — a division of the University of Minnesota Libraries that supports libraries throughout Minnesota — will be there, too, as part of Read & Ride Day at the Fair.

What was this used for?

The Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine presents weird, clever, frightening, and confounding medical devices from the past. In its eighth year and back by popular demand, audience members will be invited up onto the stage to inspect these devices and guess what the devices were used for.

When: Friday, August 23 | 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
Where: Stage near the Driven to Discover Building
Event type: Stage Show

Read & Ride Day at the Fair

Each year, Minitex participates in Read & Ride Day at the Fair, an annual event facilitated by the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA). On Read & Ride Day, fairgoers who present their library card get discounted admission. Seniors (65+) and kids (5-12) get $3 off, and adults get $2 off. This year, Minitex will be highlighting the newly redesigned ELibrary Minnesota, a website that features more resources for students, researchers, and lifelong learners than you can shake a stick at — even at the fair!

When: Wednesday, August 28 | 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Where: Dan Patch Park

How health info savvy are you?

Test your health knowledge by taking a health fact or fiction quiz. For the more adventurous, try your luck at identifying old medical devices. Presented by the UMN Bio-Medical Library Library.

When: Friday, August 30 | 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Where: Driven to Discover Building
Event type: Booth