Note: This post is about the 2012 event. For the 2013 Open House, see this new post.
This will be the highlight of the weekend, in my opinion. The College of Veterinary Medicine at NC State University holds an open house event that showcases the new addition, the “Terry Center”. Based on the program, the Vet School went out of their way to make this interesting for everybody from the 2-year-old cow aficionado to the seasoned professor of veterinary medicine.

There is too much to see for one day – here are my recommendations:

For the little ones:

• Gentle cow herding demo at 11a and 2p.
• Teddy Bear Suture Clinic. Yup. Bring in Mr. Bear if he has received a bit too much love, and he will get taken care of.
• New born foal. The website shows a foal that is not more than a few days old. I wonder how they timed the birth for the open house!
• Milk a cow. Not a milk-filled glove that you see at other “milk a cow” demonstration. This is a real, life-size, actual cow. (These days, with all the regulations for farms, this is a rare opportunity.)
• Visit a goat. If you go to vet school, you’ll learn to call a goat a “small ruminant”. But they are still cute.

Not for the little ones: (Perhaps you can leave the kids with mom (or dad) for a bit and go have a quick look at some exciting stuff that may be a bit too much for little eyes and brains…)

• Ok, I had to first look up what that is: They have a fistulated steer (click at your own risk!) Gross. Fascinating. Eek. Wow!
• Live surgery demo of spaying/neutering a dog.
• Cardiology, Neurology, Oncology, Ophthalmology, Dermatology. Big words, small animals. The Vet school has it all.

The College of Veterinary Medicine is out by the fairgrounds, off Hillsborough street. View their excellent Open House website before you go.