Learn by Doing Tours

Walk through 40 years of Brock Center history and discover the people, stories, and experiences that have shaped its legacy in agricultural communication. Explore how the center has evolved over four decades and continues to support the next generation of agricultural communicators.

Alan A.Erhart Agriculture Building, Building 10, Room 234

Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at the department’s media production capabilities through a multi-camera interview experience. Visitors will be invited to share their Cal Poly stories on camera, with recorded interviews and event footage later edited into a polished vodcast-style feature.

Alan A.Erhart Agriculture Building, Building 10, Room 100

Experience Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing spirit through engaging, hands-on activities inspired by the lessons our teacher candidates bring to high school classrooms. Explore, experiment and discover the joy of learning by doing.

Alan A.Erhart Agriculture Building, Building 10, Room 100

Meet agribusiness students participating in new industry engagement opportunities. Learn how they are building professional connections, gaining real-world experience and preparing to lead in the agricultural industry.

Alan A.Erhart Agriculture Building, Building 10, Room 206

Visit booths featuring agribusiness students who have turned their ideas into products and businesses. Meet the innovators, explore their creations and see Learn by Doing in action.

Alan A.Erhart Agriculture Building, Building 10, Room 206

Tour the newly opened Charles and Claire Jacobson Animal Health Center, a state-of-the-art facility supporting the next generation of leaders in veterinary medicine, animal agriculture and health care through teaching, research and clinical training.

Charles and Claire Jacobson Animal Health Center, Building 165

Explore 40 years of history at the Dairy Products Technology Center and discover how it supports Cal Poly students and the dairy industry.

Leprino Foods Dairy Innovation Institute, Building 18A

Explore the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center on a walking tour of its facilities. Learn how students gain real-world experience in equine care, training and management while preparing to become future leaders in the industry.

The Oppenheimer Family Equine Center, Building 32

Discover one of the nation’s largest student-supported dairies on a guided tour of this innovative complex. See how students gain hands-on experience in production, processing and product technology.

Dairy Science Complex, Building 18

Tour the newly opened Marderosian Family and Bee Sweet Citrus Automation Lab and see the hands-on projects Cal Poly students are developing. Meet the students behind the lab’s robotic innovations and learn how they are applying technology to real-world challenges.

The Marderosian Family Foundation and Bee Sweet Citrus Automation Lab at the George Wurzel Plant Sciences Building, Building 159

Come by the BioResource and Agricultural Engineering ramp and discover the difference between pressure compensation and non-pressure compensating drip emitters. Through a faculty-guided experiment visitors can measure and calculate the difference and learn how to estimate their own water savings based on the use of pressure-compensating emitters.

Saturday from 1 - 2 p.m.

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Ramp, Building 8

Explore interactive project displays and create an experience of your own. Discover how students, faculty, staff and industry partners are reimagining human-centered experiences through Learn by Doing.

George P. Johnson Experience Innovation Lab within the Boswell Agricultural Technology Center, Building 181, Room 205

Beyond cows and plows, students in CAFES’ newest major experience learn by doing in small boats, tugs, barges and a 500-foot training ship. This active slide show offers an inside look at the life and experiences of the students going through the Cal Poly Maritime Academy’s marine transportation major. 

Playing in Building 10 lobby 

Visit the Logging Unit and experience forestry education in action. The Cal Poly Logging Team will be giving a taste of their technical skills and the competitive events that regularly produce champions.

Visitors can explore displays from affiliated student clubs and research programs, offering a closer look at the hands-on learning and innovation shaping the future of natural resources.

Tour the Leaning Pine Arboretum, a student managed five-acre display garden of Mediterranean climate region plants and trees. 

Student-led tour available at 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. 

For self-guided tours, an online storymap is available. 

Environmental Horticultural Science, Building 48

Stop by the newly opened Plant Sciences Complex to explore the growth chamber, classrooms and laboratories. See student research demonstrations and experience the spaces where Cal Poly students learn, discover and innovate. Visit the hydroponics greenhouse and see the latest crops our students are growing.

Guided tours from 1 - 3 p.m.

George Wurzel Plant Sciences Building, Building 159

Take a walking tour and see the growing operations and experience the hands-on learning opportunities that our students have every day. The guided tour will take you around the orchards directly outside JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture and Crops Unit.

Guided tour 12 - 12:30 p.m. with Dr. Lauren Garner

Visit the Howard C. Brown Horticultural Greenhouse Complex for a self-guided tour and an inside look at where students grow plants.

Howard C. Brown Horticultural Greenhouse Complex, Building 48

Tour the JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture, home to a state-of-the-art 5,000-case bonded winery, viticulture and enology labs, and teaching and gathering spaces. See where students gain hands-on experience in winemaking and grape growing. 

Tours will take place at 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. People can join the group anytime.

JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture, including the Lohr Family Winery and the E. & J. Gallo Winery & Family Building, Building 156

Explore the Grimm Family Soil Health and Sustainability Open Lab and discover how Cal Poly students and faculty are advancing healthier soils, sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship through hands-on research and learning.

Grimm Family Center for Organic Production and Research at Cal Poly, Building 11, Room 103

Explore the Irrigation Training and Research Center's Charles M. Burt Water Hydraulics Laboratory and see how Cal Poly students, faculty and researchers use large-scale hydraulic facilities to study pumping systems, flow measurement and water level control through hands-on research, testing and education.

Tours take place from 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Irrigation Training and Research Center, Charles M. Burt Water Hydraulics Laboratory, Building 136A

Sample a focaccia made with wine grape pomace and a roasted carrot pomace romesco. This food demonstration highlights ongoing student research into upcycling food-processing byproducts and student product developed to reduce food waste.

Oreggia Family Foundation Culinary Lab within the Boswell Agricultural Technology Center, Building 181, Room 124

Step into the Sensory Analysis Teaching and Research Lab for a fun, interactive “final exam” in food science. Sample puffed snacks and bites while participating in a sensory test modeled after the consumer research Cal Poly students conduct to evaluate product preference, perception and acceptance. Put your taste buds to work and see how your feedback helps shape the foods of tomorrow.

Sensory Analysis Teaching and Research Lab within the Boswell Agricultural Technology Center, Building 181, Room 123