The Horticulture Building is again hosting the SkyRiver Butterflies at the New York State Fair. 
The colorful array of species from around the world surrounds visitors to the tent It’s almost as much fun to watch the kids enjoy the graceful insects that flitter around them as to watch the ‘flies themselves. It’s the best two-dollar expenditure on the grounds.
Category: Blue ribbon exhibits (Page 5 of 9)
The State Parks area–that tree-shaded green space that surrounds the reflecting pool and picnic grounds–always has terrific displays on camping, boating, wildlife and all things outdoor. 
Twin buildings at the front end house a tourism center and a parks gift shop. You can’t help but leave with renewed enthusiasm for hiking, tenting or dropping a line in a New York Park.
The kids can putt a few cost-free holes on the green or build a bluebird house as Mom and Dad take a break at a picnic table or park bench. In the corner fronting the International Pavilion you can enjoy the piney scent and graceful beauty of the Christmas Tree display. Don’t miss the wreath-making demos.
During the heyday of the antique carriages, wagons and buggies that are displayed in the Carriage Museum, you couldn’t just pull into a garage for service. 
You had to employ a hardworking, skilled craftsman to fabricate metal parts and make repairs. The blacksmith shop located at the back of the museum serves as a charming reminder of how tough that job can be as demonstrators pound away at the anvil and tend the fire to provide that lesson.
It’s a scene worth reviewing when you’re nearby. The Carriage Museum is right next to the Agriculture Museum, near Restaurant Row. Admission is free and there are benches for visitors.
Ahoy, sailors, fishing buffs and history students. Be sure to drop anchor on the shore of the New York Experience pond every day of the new York State Fair for a new nautical exhibit from New York Sea Grant.
The family-friendly, interactive exhibit shines its beacon on New York State’s 70-plus lighthouses and light boats, with a special focus on women who serve as keepers of those vital structures.
Daily demonstrations on the pond will showcase boat building, water drones, lifesaving science, a data-gathering buoy, a lifesaving exhibit, boat building demonstrations and a name that boat contest. One lucky visitor will actually win a boat.
The model circus exhibit is a perennial favorite, set up near scale model railroads in the Art and Home Center. It’s likely to be especially popular with folks who have been roaming New York State Fair midways for decades. Remember the Paratroop?
Hawk Creek Wildlife sets up a tent with a variety of raptor next to the reflecting pool. Visitors can get a rare up-close look at eagles, falcons , hawks, owls and other feathered hunters. Lectures and demonstrations are scheduled daily. It’s one of the Fair’s best wildlife exhibits.
A wood craftsman works on a lathe in the Agriculture Museum. Many talented demonstrators show their skills close-up every day.
A handmade rug with the New York State Fair logo was one of many projects on display as part of the arts and crafts competition in the Art and Home Center. The A&H is loaded with examples of the artistic talent of New Yorkers, making it a great place to spend time on rainy or excessively hot days at the Fair.
The replica Iroquois longhouse is an annual must-see exhibit for visitors to the New York State Fair. One of dozens of free attractions, it’s a fascinating look at the traditional home of the original inhabitants of the Onondaga Lake region.
The musical instrument museum on the Art and Home Center second floor features beautiful
antique phonographs, pianos, organs and posters in a dandy, free exhibit.