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Apollo 11 astronauts life-size figures carved out of butter at state fair

COLUMBUS, Ohio — One small step for man, one giant leap for butter sculptors.

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In tribute to the 50th anniversary of the historic Apoll 11 moon landing, the 2019 Ohio State Fair, which opens Wednesday, is featuring a life-size display of astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins carved in butter in a chilled diorama at the fairgrounds.

The sculptures, which stand next to life-size butter-carved cow and calf, are made from more than 2,200 pounds of butter.

Butter Armstrong, from Wapakoneta, Ohio, is posed next to the lunar module Eagle and saluting a butter-made American flag.

The state fair first featureed a butter cow and calf sculpture in 1903.

The carvings are done by a team of artists, working in a 45-degree Fahrenheit cooler.

Typically 500,000 visitors see the carvings over the course of the fair.

Previous butter tributes have been made to honor Urban Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Olympics, Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas, golfer Jack Nicklaus, and former Mercury astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn.

The butter used in the display is recycled after the fair.