The University of Iowa will share stories of how it provides Iowans with a world-class education, keeps families healthy, builds businesses, and makes life better through social and cultural outreach at its Iowa State Fair booth, Aug. 7-17, in Des Moines.

This year's Iowa State Fair theme is "Nothing Compares."

More than 200 UI alumni, faculty, staff, students and I-Club members will volunteer at the booth in the William C. Knapp Varied Industries Building. They will help give away Hawkeye football posters, schedule cards and temporary Tigerhawk tattoos. In addition, daily drawings will be held for Hawkeye athletic events tickets, bobble-head dolls, and street banners from the 2013 football season.

Herky and the Iowa Spirit Squad will also make a number of appearances to greet Hawkeye fans from 5-9 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 7; Friday, Aug. 8; Saturday, Aug. 9; Friday, Aug. 15; and Saturday, Aug. 16.

Traveling trophies from last fall's UI football season will also be on display, including the Cy-Hawk Trophy (Iowa-Iowa State), Floyd of Rosedale (Iowa-Minnesota), and the Heroes Game Trophy (Iowa-Nebraska).

The UI Office of Admissions will be at the booth every day of the fair to provide information to prospective students and their parents on the UI’s educational programs and scholarship and financial aid opportunities.

In addition, there will be daily exhibitors representing the many UI departments and organizations that provide services and outreach across the entire state.

Two of the UI’s newest outreach efforts are the Mobile Museum and UI Partners, a division of the UI Economic Development group.

UI Partners helps Iowa businesses succeed and grow by offering information technology help for small businesses. Representatives from that office will be at the state fair on Tuesday, Aug. 12.

The Mobile Museum is a project of the UI Pentacrest Museums (the Museum of Natural History and Old Capitol Museum) and the Office of the State Archaeologist. The Mobile Museum will be at the fair for its entire run. It will be located on the State Fair’s Grand Concourse near the Grand Avenue entrance on the west side of the fairgrounds.

Several daily exhibitors will highlight the UI’s efforts to keep Iowans healthy, including Dance Marathon, the UI’s largest student organization, which provides emotional and financial support to the families of children with cancer (Friday, Aug. 8), the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Carver College of Medicine (Saturday, Aug. 9), the College of Dentistry (Monday, Aug. 11), and the State Hygienic Laboratory at the UI (Thursday, Aug. 14).

Several exhibits will put the spotlight on UI efforts to enrich the state through cultural offerings, including:

• Pentacrest Museums, Sunday, Aug. 10
• University of Iowa Press, which will host Kurt Ullrich, author of a just-released book on the State Fair as well as other Iowa authors, Friday, Aug. 15
• UI Museum of Art, which will share scientific information about the recently completed conservation of Jackson Pollock’s “Mural,” one of America’s most famous paintings.

For more information on the new UI campaign highlighting academic excellence and statewide service, visit 'The university for Iowa.'

Two more exhibitors will offer both fun and educational experiences to fair visitors:

• Doug Litwiller of UI Facilities Management returns Wednesday, Aug. 13, as Professor KW Therm to help visitors understand how the UI is reducing its carbon footprint, provide energy saving tips for all Iowa households, and offer chances for visitors to answer questions and win rewards.
• UI chemistry professor Ned Bowden and several graduate students will return with their popular exhibit allowing visitors of all ages to perform scientific experiments on Saturday, Aug 16.