In light of the current public health crisis and keeping safety a priority, the Department of Agriculture hosted the 105th PA Farm Show virtually to celebrate Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry.

The virtual Farm Show brought the stories of agriculture into homes and explored how we can cultivate a brighter tomorrow for Pennsylvania’s leading industry.

Not to be left out of the fun of any Farm Show, PHMC launched a “Virtual PA Farm Show Booth” to promote PHMC’s sites and collections that celebrate Pennsylvania’s vast agricultural history and food ways.

PHMC’s “Virtual” Farm Show booth in January 2021.

Famous Marker Scavenger Hunt – Virtual!

The highlight of PHMC’s Farm Show Booth is the PHMC Farm Show Historical Marker Virtual Scavenger Hunt!

Whether you a returning attendee or have never attended Farm Show, the virtual scavenger was our attempt to bring the traditional Farm Show experience into your home with the sounds and smells of animals in the Main Hall, exhibits in the Family Living Center and all our favorite treats from the Food Court!

The virtual scavenger hunt is free, kid-friendly and completed from the comfort of your home.

GooseChase

Designed by PA SHPO’s creative team of Emma Diehl, Scott Doyle, Karen Galle and Jenna Solomon, we transformed the traditional Farm Show Historical Marker Scavenger Hunt into the 21st century by using the GooseChase app. GooseChase blends the fun of a traditional scavenger hunt with mobile technology to create a unique learning experience heritage.

The creative team created twenty-one different clues, which dealt with a wide range of topics including:

  • Maple syrup and other condiments
  • Apples and other foods
  • Women and minorities in agriculture
  • Innovations and inventions
  • Trees and flowers.
This is what the Farm Show scavenger hunt looks like in the GooseChase app. Tap on each clue to open it.

The scavenger hunt game was designed for school groups as an interactive educational tool but is also fun for children of any age. The game uses a series of missions based on actual PHMC historical markers that to test a participant’s reading comprehension, spelling, math skills, mapping skills and creativity with drawing or photo missions.  

The scavenger hunt is educational as well as fun! This challenge uses information about maple syrup production in Pennsylvania to teach math skills.

There are embedded photos and links to help complete each mission. All responses are visible in a live feed that allow you to monitor the progress and creativity of the other participants.

We also added a Johnny Appleseed challenge to upload a photo of a personally designed “thank you apple” card to a deserving person in your life.

This is one of the scavenger hunt’s interactive challenges. It is related to the story of Pennsylvania’s Johnny Appleseed, who has a marker in Venango County.

Here are some sample “thank you cards” submitted by participants:  

Another challenge was to identify the first product Henry J. Heinz, the man world famous for his “57 varieties” and then upload a photo of your favorite condiment from your refrigerator or pantry.

Don’t Miss Out – Play Now!

As the game is open through Sunday February 14, 2021, you still have time to enjoy a small part of the 105th PA Farm Show.

Here’s how to play along:

  • Download the free GooseChase app to your smartphone or other compatible device
  • Search for “PHMC Farm Show Scavenger Hunt”
  • Join solo or create a team (limited to 1-3 members)
  • Head to the “virtual Farm Show” and start completing the missions!
  • Monitor your progress and that of other participants by following the leaderboard and submissions

Top participants at the end of the four weeks will receive prizes, including a family membership to the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation and other PHMC gifts.

We hope you enjoyed the virtual scavenger hunt and look forward to seeing you at the Show in 2022!