Area farmers make their living producing feed, food, forage, fuel and fiber from the soil, says Dennis Epplin, University of Illinois Extension crop systems educator. Many in the agricultural sector know quite a bit about some aspects of the soil; however, few of us have a comprehensive knowledge of our soils.

This month, soil is taking center stage in a 5,000-square-foot exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The educational interactive exhibition called Dig It! The Secrets of Soil opens on July 19 and runs through January 2010. A planned national tour to museums around the country and in Canada would begin later in 2010, depending on sponsorship.

The exhibition brings soils to life and invites visitors to look at them in new and exciting ways through interactive displays, multimedia, hands-on components and cultural displays. It covers soil concepts ranging from horizon formation to global element cycles. There are three sections on soils from a human perspective, starting at the scale of the planet, moving to a regional landscape, and ending at the home scale.

The exhibit consists of 54 soil monoliths (profile samples) from each state, territory and the District of Columbia, five video components including a 10-minute feature video, eight interactives (12 stations), three scale models, plus free-standing and wall-hung panels and graphics.

Realizing that not everyone will be able to make the trip to Washington, DC, you can learn more at the website www.sites.si.edu/soils/.

Quick fact: Illinois soils are some of the most productive in the world, but they are only part of the more than 70,000 different kinds of soil in the United States.