Educating the community & future generations about the world of agriculture
By Katelynn Henry
Shopping for groceries is a common chore for many. The main goal is to get in, get the groceries and get out. But have you stopped to consider the long, unseen journey that those food products have made before landing on those shelves?
The Pennsylvania Ag Discovery Center will soon be able to help consumers make that connection. “I think it is important for people to understand that, at the end of the day, when you go to the grocery store there is an entire world of people that put in the work to make sure those items are available to you,” says Tom O’Connor, executive director of the Pennsylvania Ag Discovery Center.
What started as a seed of an idea in 2019 has bloomed into a comprehensive project dedicated to inspiring locals, tourists and future generations to explore agriculture’s role in their lives. Partnering with Adams Economic Alliance, the Pennsylvania Ag Discovery Center plans to build a 25,000-square-foot facility outside Gettysburg that will demonstrate the importance of agriculture.
While other counties were considered for the project, it found its home in Adams County. Project officials are now in the final stage of determining the location for the center.
“I think one of the reasons we won the project was because we work really well together as a team in Adams County,” says Robin Fitzpatrick, president of Adams Economic Alliance. “Everyone did their part to make an interactive, award-winning proposal.”
Adams County’s appeal comes from its sense of community, local agriculture and tourism. The area’s agricultural landscape includes the fruit belt, which produces more apples than other counties in Pennsylvania. And, rich in history, Adams County’s thriving tourism industry can be credited in large part to the monuments and museums dedicated to the Battle of Gettysburg, bringing up to two million visitors to the area every year.
But the Pennsylvania Ag Discovery Center will be taking a different approach. It is about showcasing the present and future of agriculture. The center’s goal, says O’Connor, is to have people come to the grand opening and still be able to learn something new 10 years later.
“It is important to constantly update what we will offer at the center. It is not a museum. We’re not going to show you the first wheelbarrow. It is about where we are today and where we are going,” he says.
The center will feature various exhibits, such as a 4-D theater, STEM learning labs, a greenhouse and sensory gardens, an outdoor play space and more. But these exhibits aren’t just static displays. For instance, the center’s interactive table will allow people to track their food’s entire lifespan, from planting a seed to stocking the finished product in stores.
With actual crops being grown in the sensory gardens, people will be able to use all five senses to fully immerse themselves in the world of agriculture. The center also plans to partner with local farms to bring in livestock and have people learn from the farmers. The livestock exhibits will continually change, allowing people to learn about a new animal and local farm every visit.
“It is about actually seeing a crop, touching it and getting your hands dirty,” says O’Connor. “You can recreate a cow through materials and technology, but nothing beats the real thing.”
While the Pennsylvania Ag Discovery Center is dedicated to teaching about agriculture, it also has a mission to promote the future of the industry. By showing all the components of agriculture, from planting to manufacturing to selling and, finally, to buying, the center’s founders hope to inspire younger generations to pursue jobs in agriculture, encouraging them to take their hobbies, talents and dream jobs and apply them to agriculture.
“We want to help younger generations to connect the dots between themselves and agriculture,” says O’Connor. “Do you like computers? You can work in agriculture. Do you like sales? You can work in agriculture. You don’t want to go to college? Here are agriculture jobs that don’t need a degree.”
With its exhibits, partnerships with local farms and mission to support the future of agriculture, the Pennsylvania Ag Discovery Center is the seed of inspiration for everyone who steps foot in the facility. Its purpose is to get people to appreciate the hard work that goes into everything they eat and to continue supporting the agriculture industry.
“When people think of a dairy farm, they think of milking cows,” says O’Connor. “They don’t think about the 24-hour operation dairy farmers carry out. We want people to go into the grocery store and know more about what they buy.”
Support the Pennsylvania
Ag Discovery Center
Learn more about the Pennsylvania Ag Discovery Center and support its mission by visiting
