Bear Hat attended the United States Department of Agriculture - Beltsville Agriculture Research Center Field Day, where government scientists presented their research to the public. He sniffed his way through the Chocolate Laboratory's booth of cocoa plants and participated in a chocolate taste test (he liked sample #4 the best). He became a successful hissing cockroach trainer with a prize winning cockroach that beat all of the other small children's cockroaches. He learned about the need to identify insects in streams as it indicates the local environment's health. However, he was especially excited by the opportunity to experience country living and "drive" a tractor.
Also at Field Day, Bear Hat was delighted to meet a fellow bear, Smokey. They compared favorite hunting strategies, which fish are the tastiest, and the time of day it's best to go foraging. It could be said that Bear Hat and Smokey were having a bit of a bromance.
