What you'll need:
- A printer with 8 1⁄2 x 11 paper.
- Colored pencils or crayons. Don't use watercolors or markers because the color will bleed through the paper.
- Scissors.
- Glue.
- Poster board to make the masks stronger.
- Elastic string (or a stick if you don't want the mask attached to your face). If you use a stick, you'll need tape.
- A sharp pencil for starting the eyeholes and the holes where the string is attached. Note: Measure the mask on your own face before making the eyeholes to find the right place for them.
- Tape.
Mask instructions:
- Download any of the mask image below.
- Print the mask on your printer
- Color the mask.
- Cut it out.
- Glue the mask on the poster board and trim it again.
- Use the sharp pencil to make the holes.
- Tie the string or tape the stick to the mask.
I'm Celeste the dairy cow
If you're enjoying yummy ice cream, All-You-Can-Drink Milk, cheese curds, a malt or butter sculpting at the fair, you have me to thank for it. I produce 6 or 7 gallons of milk daily, so I need to drink plenty of water — 30 to 50 gallons per day, or enough to fill a bathtub. You might have heard about my four stomachs; that's kind of true because my stomach has four compartments to help me digest the feed I like to eat. Come and watch me giving milk at the Moo Booth!
I'm Dan Patch the legendary horse
I was an American harness-racing horse, some say the fastest that ever lived. I was born in Oxford, Ind., and though I nearly died as a yearling, Marion Savage (ever heard of that suburb?) paid $60,000 for me in 1902. On Sept. 8, 1906, a huge crowd at the Minnesota State Fair watched as I ran what would turn out to be the world's fastest mile by a two-wheel sulky, a record of 1:55 that was later matched but never broken. I was so famous, I pitched products and appeared in political cartoons. After a career traveling the nation in my own train car, I retired to the green pastures of Savage Racing Stables.
I'm George the gopher
I'm not as famous as the fair's mascots, Fairchild and his nephew Fairborne, or the University of Minnesota's Goldy, but I aspire to such greatness. Still, even your average gopher is a pretty interesting creature: I have pockets in my cheeks to carry food, and powerful legs and claws for digging. My sharp incisors never stop growing, so I never stop chewing. These skills come in handy for making tunnels and my cozy underground den.
I'm Lili the llama
I come from the Andes Mountains in South America. I'm a member of the camelid family, which includes camels and alpacas. I'm extremely sociable and communicate by humming and, yes, spitting — I can spit 15 feet or more, so beware. You can see me at my finest (and silliest) at the State Fair 4-H Llama-Alpaca Costume Contest. I'm very smart and a little vain because of my beautiful and useful hair and luscious eyelashes. I'm also very strong. I can carry as much as 200 pounds for 12 hours a day.
I'm Petula the pig
I'm the smartest animal on the farm and I have great senses of smell and direction (though I can't see very well). My reputation for filthiness is not quite fair. I just like to roll in the mud to stay cool! When I was born — you can see lots of cute piglets at the Miracle of Birth Center — I weighed about 2 ½ pounds, and I managed to double in weight in only a week. You can see lots of kinds of pigs at the fair, with names like Berkshire, Duroc, Hampshire and Yorkshire, and don't miss a visit to see the largest boar at the fair. He usually weighs 1,300 pounds or more.