7 August 2001

UQ Gatton's Open Day on Sunday, August 26 from 9.30am to 3pm is expected to draw a strong crowd of about 3000.

Just under an hour's drive from Brisbane and 25 minutes from Toowoomba, the 1068-hectare campus will be a hive of activity with academic sessions, campus tours and market-day attractions.

Programs in agribusiness, agriculture and horticulture, animal studies, environmental studies, and food science and technology will be on show.

Prospective students can seek study and career advice at seminars or via one-on-one talks and information will be available on accommodation and student services.

Highlights of the day include equestrian events in the Olympic-standard showjumping ring, a jazz band, horse-drawn rides, a trackless train and an outside broadcast by Radio CFM.

A Food Court will feature offerings ranging from burgers to delicacies prepared by international students and a jazz band. An entertainment area for children will include animal nursery, jumbo slide and jumping castle.

Campus tours will take visitors round state-of-the-art facilities such as the Plant Nursery where leading researchers are working on ornamental horticulture, and the new ultra-modern Dairy where an electronic system records data such as body weight and individual milk output for each animal.

For more information, contact Anthony Smith, UQ Gatton (telephone 07 5460 1229 or 0409 265 587) or Moya Pennell, UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2846).