Expect math on a stick — and free sunscreen

ST. PAUL - Coming to the Minnesota State Fair this year: math, a figure-skating champion and quite a bit of sunscreen.
The fair announced its new attractions Wednesday, a little more than a month ahead of its Aug. 27 opening. They range from a history show to alternate programming for a bird-free poultry barn.
Perhaps the simplest and most practical news: free sunscreen from dispensers at every information booth.
New activities include:
• Math On-A-Stick, a Baldwin Park exhibit featuring educational math games and activities.
• Figuring Skating Day on Aug. 31 at Carousel Park, featuring an appearance and autograph session with Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi and performances by local clubs on a plastic ice sheet.
• “History On-A-Schtick,” a daily original show written and directed by local artists and featuring a mashup of Minnesota cultural keystones (a partial description: the mosquito, a blueberry muffin, wild rice and a walleye hold a fashion parade).
• Presentations on a variety of poultry topics in the poultry barn, which won’t host birds because of an outbreak of avian flu in the state earlier this year. Visitors can also send well-wishes to people whose livelihoods have been affected.
• A giant sink-and-drain slide in the Progress Center, down which visitors can “flush” themselves and learn about what happens when chemicals go down the drain.
• A 50-year anniversary celebration for the Crop Art display and a 100-year celebration for Ye Old Mill, which is the fair’s oldest attraction.
• Daily Bandshell performances by the Willis Clan, a 14-member family ensemble from Nashville with its own TLC show.
• Hmong Minnesota Day in Carousel Park on Sept. 7, featuring cultural shows and events to commemorate the 40-year anniversary of Hmong immigration in Minnesota.