The Food + Farm Exploration Center installed the World’s Largest Potato Masher on May 19. The legendary 39-foot potato masher will welcome visitors to the site. Honoring the agriculture industry, producers, inventors, and consumers, the potato masher symbolizes discovery within and beyond the new center.
In a written statement, Executive Director Andy Reitz said Plover is a natural home for the institute due to central Wisconsin’s strong potato and vegetable heritage.
Reconnecting people to agriculture and food inspired the Exploration Center. It will be a place to explore contemporary agriculture, meet the farmers, study science and engineering, play, and interact.
“It will be a tantalizing celebration of food and farming with a teaching farm, children’s museum, science center, and community workshop,” Reitz said.
The Cultivating Connections Campaign has raised $28 million from people and business partners committed to Wisconsin’s agriculture industry. The project needs $41 million.
The event included a short ceremony with speakers Andy Reitz, Executive Director of Farming for The Future Foundation and the Food + Farm Exploration Center; Steve Kunst, Village of Plover; Alicia Pavelski,
Founding Member & Board President; Jim Yehle, President & CEO, Findorff; and Les Dobbe, President and CEO of Lineage Logistics in Stevens Point and co-chair of the Cultivating Connections Capital Campaign.
Construction manager J.H. Findorff & Son, architect Eppstein Uhen Architects, and exhibit designer Gyroscope oversaw the project, which is set to open in autumn 2023.