Annual Nevada Field Day celebrates community, outreach and learning

Attendees enjoyed hands-on activities, tastings, plant sales and research in action

Casually dressed people in a long building with some standing and others hunched over a lineup of tables with scientific equipment.

Nevada Field Day is a free, fun, family-friendly event hosted annually by the University’s College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources. The event features hands-on exhibits, plant sales, wine and meat samplings, giveaways and games. This year’s celebration drew the young, the young at heart, the curious and the playful for a day of discovery and fun. Photo by Brin Reynolds.

Annual Nevada Field Day celebrates community, outreach and learning

Attendees enjoyed hands-on activities, tastings, plant sales and research in action

Nevada Field Day is a free, fun, family-friendly event hosted annually by the University’s College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources. The event features hands-on exhibits, plant sales, wine and meat samplings, giveaways and games. This year’s celebration drew the young, the young at heart, the curious and the playful for a day of discovery and fun. Photo by Brin Reynolds.

Casually dressed people in a long building with some standing and others hunched over a lineup of tables with scientific equipment.

Nevada Field Day is a free, fun, family-friendly event hosted annually by the University’s College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources. The event features hands-on exhibits, plant sales, wine and meat samplings, giveaways and games. This year’s celebration drew the young, the young at heart, the curious and the playful for a day of discovery and fun. Photo by Brin Reynolds.

Fun, facts and fanfare filled the 2025 Nevada Field Day & Ag Expo, with booths hosted by faculty, staff and friends of the University’s College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources.

Attendees braved the 96-degree heat to enjoy hands-on activities, science demos, giveaways, tours and local food at the Experiment Station, where the event was held. Adults 21 and older sampled Nevada-grown wines from the Experiment Station’s Desert Farming Initiative, while visitors of all ages enjoyed meat tastings from Extension’s Meat Workforce Development Program, inflatable archery and a scavenger hunt to find for miniature Wolfies. Attendees also browsed plant sales, farm stands and many other booths showcasing University research and outreach.

A campus tradition for decades, Nevada Field Day reflects the University’s commitment to agricultural research. The Valley Road Field Lab has served as a hub of innovation since the early 1900s, when Washoe County deeded the land to the University. Today, the 27-acre site houses facilities including the Greenhouse Complex, Nevada Genomics Center, biofuels labs, hoop houses and the Equestrian Center, making it both a research hub and a space for the public to engage with science.

A photo collage features a grapevine at the top and a sign reading “Wine Tasting,” with an arrow pointing toward a hoop house, at the bottom.
Who says grapes can’t grow in the desert? Guests 21 and over sampled red and white wines made from Nevada-grown grapes and bottled by Nevada producers. The University partners with Nevada Sunset Winery and Lenox Vineyards to produce its own branded wines, including a Riesling and a red blend. Grapes are sourced from Lenox Vineyards and the College’s Research Center & Demonstration Orchard in North Las Vegas. Photo by Brin Reynolds and Louise Ruskamp.
A hand with spread out fingers reaches out to a great and white stuffed animal on a table.
“Eureka, I found it!” That was the exhilarating reaction from kids and adults who discovered hidden miniature Wolfies to win a prize. Nevada Field Day is a joyful space where curiosity thrives and discoveries are made. Photo by Brin Reynolds.

A man wearing a blue apron, orange gloves and holding a knife hunches over a table covered with chunks of meat, demonstrating meat cutting. A small group of men and women sit in front of him, watching closely.
“This is how we do it.” A professional meat cutter from Wolf Pack Meats, part of the University’s Experiment Station, demonstrates how to cut meat for a tender, juicy cooked result. Photo by Brin Reynolds.

A man stands with his hands in his pockets beside a table covered with glue and colorful insect shapes. A boy and another man in a hat lean over to examine the table’s contents. Nearby, a group of people gathers in conversation around what appears to be an electronic gadget.
Andrew Nuss (left-standing), professor of insect physiology, agricultural science and molecular biology, wowed visitors with a 3D-printed skin model used to “feed” ticks and demonstrate public health research — no real blood required. Photo by Robert Moore.
A group of children gathers around a table covered with papers featuring colorful pictures. One child stands holding a small potted plant, while the others sit and write with crayons.
Nurturing knowledge and building awareness is the future of Nevada’s conservation. These young children learned about the role of bees in pollination and how to attract and preserve them to support conservation efforts. Photo by Brin Reynolds.
A boy in an orange T-shirt draws a bow, aiming an arrow with focus, while a smiling girl stands nearby, watching in the direction of his aim.
I’ve got this! An attendee aims for the bullseye at Extension’s 4-H Youth Development booth. In addition to hands-on-learning, parents and children learned more about 4-H programs and camps available to Nevada youth this summer and throughout the year. Picture by Robert Moore.  
 
A girl in a red T-shirt and gloves lifts a spoonful of food from a large bowl on a table, while a woman next to her holds a storage container filled with food. Another woman stands nearby, smiling as she looks in a different direction, while a man watches her with a smile.
Guests enjoyed delicious samples made with Nevada-grown ingredients, showcasing the flavors and bounty of local agriculture. Photo by Robert Moore.
A man and three women standing behind a table full of potted plants, with one seemingly talking to a woman on the opposite end of the table.
John Cushman’s lab, known for research on drought-tolerant crops and desert plant biology, offered a vibrant selection of succulents for sale. His team studies how plants such as agave and cactus survive harsh conditions, with the goal of developing climate-resilient crops for Nevada and beyond. Photo by Robert Moore.
A woman stands behind a table stacked with pink, blue and white boxes of sugar, engaged in conversation with another woman across from her who holds a plastic bag filled with cards.
Did you know that drinking a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola is like eating 10 teaspoons of sugar? The Nutrition Department was on hand to teach about healthy drinks and to distribute recipes for nutritious beverages for individuals and families. Photo by Robert Moore.

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