RIVER FALLS – Giant spiders made from round bales of hay have taken over the University of Wisconsin-River Falls campus in advance of Halloween. Looking for a new and meaningful project for her forage crops class, Professor of Plant and Earth Science Yoana Newman came up with the idea. Students worked in small groups to create four spiders, each constructed with a 5x5 bale of hay, 100 feet of flexible drain tile pipe for legs, and decorated with spray paint.

“I wanted to get them thinking about haymaking,” Newman said. “Soon, we’ll have a hard freeze and there won’t be anything to look at in the fields.”

Newman had seen giant hay bale spiders through the countryside while working Extension outreach and thought the project would be just the thing to keep her students engaged while they learned about hay production.

Grace Morrisey, a junior crops and soils major from Lake City, Minn., and Jessica Willette, a senior crops and soils major from Claremont, Minn., were part of a team that built one of the spiders in front of Rodli Hall.

“The Hay Bale Spider project was a fun and memorable experience,” Morrisey said. “As a group, we were able to apply our previous class knowledge about hay to create an informational poster, then we used our creativity and seasonal spirit to decorate a hay bale into a spooky Halloween decoration.”

"I really enjoyed this project as it allowed us to learn more about hay production while creating something fun with my friends that the community can enjoy and learn a little from as well,” Willette said.

Two of the spiders are located along east Cascade Avenue: one at Spruce Street near the Science and Technology Innovation Center, the other at South Sixth Street in front of Rodli Hall. The other two spiders are located at the entrances to the Campus Farm at 1529 Wasson Lane and Mann Valley Farm at 129 S. Glover Road. 

The public is invited to vote for their favorite spiders online or using a QR code posted at each site. Voting will remain open through Friday, Oct. 31.

In addition to the festive hay bales dotting campus, two special Halloween-themed public events are planned at UWRF on Monday, Oct. 27:

• Children in 4k through fifth grade are invited to trick or treat in the residence halls during the annual “Halloween in the Halls” event from 4:30-6:30 p.m., hosted by the UWRF Residence Life Department. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
• The UWRF Society of Physics Students and UWRF Chemistry Department Chem Demons will host “Haunted Labs,” featuring Halloween-themed science demonstrations for all ages, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Centennial Science Hall, 511 S. Sixth St.

Submitted by UW-River Falls