Sam Moreno slowly scooted away from the large dairy cow he had just finished milking.

The 8-year-old Lansing resident is not used to being around livestock but said he enjoyed the experience of milking a cow Wednesday at the Great Dairy Adventure during the 10th annual Michigan Dairy Expo.

"It was fun," Sam said. "It felt really weird."

This was not Sam's first time at the event, said his mother, Elizabeth Moreno, who brought her three children to the expo at the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education.

"It's fun for the kids," Moreno said. "They like to see the cows, and it's good for them to learn about things like this."

The expo is a weeklong event that started Monday and ends Friday. Dairy farmers from around the state can come to show their livestock, publicize their programs and socialize, said Carla McLachlan, Michigan Dairy Expo coordinator.

The Great Dairy Adventure started six years ago as part of the expo with the goal to educate children about dairy, said Shari Blonde, Great Dairy Adventure coordinator.

"(It's a) one-day event where we do our best to educate the kids on the fact that milk and all the other dairy products you buy in the grocery store comes from somewhere other than the grocery shelf," Blonde said.

Anywhere from 1,700 to 2,000 children were expected at the event, including those unfamiliar with agriculture, she said.

Children with stick-on milk mustaches pasted to their faces waited in a long line with parents and caregivers to get their pictures taken with an MSU athlete.

The athletes got involved with the event through a program called Putting Athletes and Community Together, or PACT, said Katlyn Roggensack, a member of the MSU women's gymnastic team and a general business administration and pre-law sophomore.

"It's fun to represent MSU athletics," Roggensack said. "When we do stuff with kids, it's fun."

Athletes from the MSU football and cheerleading teams were also present at the event.

Leona Daniels, who promotes dairy sales by educating people on the importance of consuming dairy daily through the United Dairy Industry of Michigan, said the event is aimed at school and day care programs.

"Our goal is to provide a good, positive experience," Daniels said. "(People) can get some really good nutritional information."

She said many of the children at the event are not familiar with agriculture and where dairy products come from.

"Some kids have never seen a cow before," Daniels said. "One kid came through and said 'Wow, that's the biggest goat I have ever seen.'"