LUBBOCK, Texas (KFDA) – The FiberMax Center for Discovery in Lubbock is sharing the history of agriculture in the region.
Executive Director Lacee Hoelting says they started as the Lubbock County Historical Collection back in 1969.
Two county commissioners, Alton Brazel and Arch Lamb, thought it was important to preserve ag history due to the fast changes brought on by technology.
“There was a plan for it to go to an existing museum and they assembled a lot of great things, and then that plan fell through,” said Hoelting.
This eventually led to several leaders from the South Plains area coming together to form a nonprofit agriculture museum in 2001.
“It’s really a generational thing. 50 years ago, 100 years ago, you grew a lot of your own food. Technology has advanced so fast in agriculture that now a lot of people, they’re disconnected from where their food and fiber actually comes from,” said Hoelting.
She says the museum is trying to fill that gap and educate all age groups about where their food and fiber comes from.
The museum is also working to educate people about all the opportunities in the ag industry, especially for kids.
“There’s a lot of great jobs, and we’re going to need a lot of talented people in our industry if we’re going to continue to feed and clothe a growing population,” said Hoelting. “Especially here in Texas with a lot of the challenges we’re facing in agriculture.”
Hoelting says her least favorite words to hear are the museum is Lubbock’s best kept secret. The museum doesn’t want to be a secret.
There are several interactive exhibits for all ages highlighting historical agriculture and the environment.
“If you like antique tractors and equipment and learning how people use those to make a living on the South Plains, we have that,” said Hoelting. “But we also have information about the Ogallala Aquifer and all different crops, how they’re grown.”
The museum’s newest piece is the Agworks Children’s Wing. Hoelting says it’s aimed at young kids to teach them in a hands-on, fun way.
“Then we also have the Cotton Heritage Center, which is all about cotton production, cotton ginning, which is still such a huge part of our economy here in the Panhandle,” said Hoelting.
The FiberMax Center for Discovery is located at 1121 Canyon Lake Dr.
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