Featuring animatronic robots including a bulky farmer-machine hybrid named Tork, an interactive agriculture exhibition showing children how food goes from seed to table will open May 16 at Imagination Station.

The Andersons Inc. is sponsoring the permanent exhibition, called Grow U, that will have an interactive game show with several animatronic characters plus hands-on exhibits and a functioning beehive. In all, there will be seven exhibits at the downtown Toledo science center looking at agriculture from a local and global perspective, officials said.

About 30 Andersons employees worked with Imagination Station on the project for more than a year, said company Chairman and Chief Executive Mike Anderson, who declined to say how much the Maumee company spent on the exhibition.

"We believe it is important for children and adults to have an awareness and appreciation of where their food comes from," he said during a news conference Wednesday.

Grocery stores are the last step in that process, Mr. Anderson added.

The exhibition will focus on technology in agriculture, Ohio's role in the industry, and other farm-related topics, said Lori Hauser, executive director of Imagination Station.

A tractor for children to climb on for photo opportunities will stand outside the about-2,000-square-foot exhibition, which will be housed in an area resembling a barn, complete with exposed beams. There will be information about the area's three main crops -- corn, soybeans, and wheat -- as well as the functioning beehive, soil samples, and other displays, said Carl Nelson, Imagination Station's exhibits director.

The game show, called "Farm 101: Know It To Grow It," will have a cast of animatronic characters created by LifeFormations of Bowling Green. They will guide children as they answer questions.

Each game show contestant will have a four-round question session, co-hosted by Mother Nature and Tork, the farmer-machine with tires for shoulders and an exhaust pipe protruding from his back. Help will be provided by Cornelius D. Cobb, a wise ear of corn; Tina Tofu, an eager soybean, and others.

As part of the exhibition, Imagination Station will provide teachers with related curriculum online at no charge, Ms. Hauser said. Nutrients For Life Foundation was among groups that helped develop the curriculum, she said.

First Published March 22, 2012, 5:20 a.m.