Picking up pecans on an autumn afternoon and taking a delicious bite of a mouth-watering pecan pie are memories that most Georgians will cherish for a lifetime. The Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village will pay tribute to the mighty pecan on Sept. 12 with the opening of The Georgia Pecan Experience.
“The exhibition highlights the history of Georgia’s pecan industry and delves into health and nutrition, biology, growers’ guide, and delicious recipes,” Museum Curator Polly Huff said. “Our exhibit team created a completely wheelchair accessible exhibit, with special provisions for blind guests, who will be able to enjoy the displays with the help of custom-made tactile panels.”
Huff said the exhibit came about as a result of an almost two-year long collaboration with the Georgia Pecan Growers Association (GPGA). ABAC interns Jason Gentry, a history and government major from Blakely, and Alejandra Penne, a history major from Moultrie, assisted with research and installation of the exhibit.
The exhibit is sponsored by the GPGA through the United States Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program which is awarded through the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Georgia’s pecan industry includes growers and shellers, aggregators (businesses that buy from multiple producers and sell in bulk to others) and brokers (who also buy in bulk but sell in response to market demand).
“We are so excited at GPGA to have this exhibit available,” GPGA Executive Director Samantha McLeod said. “It is truly one-of-a-kind. Working with Polly and her team has been a wonderful experience, and she has provided a unique touch and creative input to our original project proposal. We’re thrilled to expose the next generation to the impact of pecans for Georgia’s economy and the historical tradition of pecans in our state.”
Huff said the exhibit is set against a backdrop of a beautiful Georgia pecan orchard and features several interactive elements. Ganas Pecan Company from Waycross gifted the museum a special artifact, a pecan sorting table, which will be displayed as a part of the exhibition, along with several other artifacts relating to the industry.
The Georgia Pecan Experience will be open to guests on Sept. 12, with a grand opening for representatives from the pecan industry coming up later this fall.
Admission to this exhibit is included in the Museum’s daily admission and free with a valid season pass. ABAC students are admitted free with their ID. For more information about this and other exhibits, interested persons can contact Huff at phuff@abac.edu.