The annual Friends & Neighbors Day at the USDA-ARS Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory will be held Thursday.

Campus activities begin at 2 p.m. Exhibits and tours will focus on urban gardening and landscaping, Native American ethnobiology, soils for gardening, rain gardens, backyard birds, and North Dakota trees.

A "soil tunnel," crafts, and buggy rides are available for children. Many sponsors and organizations also will host exhibits.

Crop, livestock, and environmental research tours depart campus at 4 p.m.

An evening barbecue will precede Bluegrass music by the Missouri River Boys.

The Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory is located at 1701 10th Ave. SW, just south of the Heart River Bridge on Highway 6 in Mandan.

More information can be found at www.mandan.ars.usda.gov or call 667-3000.