A 15-year-old Palmerton girl is going to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg to showcase three goats.

Melanie Bartholomew is excited for the experience, although a little nervous.

She is participating in the Junior Dairy Goat Show on Thursday and the Open Exhibitor Dairy Goat Show on Friday, both at 8 a.m. in the Northwest building of the complex.

“I’ll tell them don’t misbehave on me. You got this,” of the pep talk given to the female goats named Nutella, 2, a dairy goat; Moosetracks, 1, a doe kid; and Ginger, 1, a dry yearling.

Melanie is a sophomore at the Milton Hershey School, Hershey.

She arrived at the complex Wednesday and will stay until Saturday. Twelve other students from the school are competing at this week’s Farm Show.

“I really wanted the experience of showing at the Farm Show,” she said Wednesday.

Melanie is a member of the goat club at the school. She has learned showmanship and caring and grooming of the goats. The goats live on farms on the campus. Children are responsible for their care. The goats eat alfalfa and hay. Some even like fruit snacks.

When she was younger, she visited her grandparents in Saylorsburg who had goats, pigs and a few sheep. Visiting other relatives, Melanie saw cattle.

Goats can be very stubborn, she said. Each of them have their own personalities.

“I like how silly and how fun they can be. They are also really cute,” she said.