Go get lost - and amazed in a maze

How would you like to walk on a dinosaur's back? Stand on the tail of a rocket? In Fremont, Calif., you can rest in a bear's mouth. And in Corinna, Maine, you can journey inside a lobster. Best of all, you can get lost while you explore these creatures and it's all part of the fun.

These figures, and many more, are cut into cornfields and become giant mazes for children and adults to explore. Corn mazes are fairly new in the United States, but are quickly growing in popularity. There are more than 100 in the US this year, and maybe there's one near you. Because they're made from growing corn, each maze lasts only one season. Most are open to visitors in September and October. When farmers harvest the corn, the maze disappears.

The first maize maze in the US was created in 1993 in Annville, Pa. Students and staff from Lebanon Valley College wanted a way to help flood victims in the Midwest. They had heard about European mazes, usually made with hedges. Why not carve a maze out of a cornfield? They cut a maze in the shape of a dinosaur in a three-acre field of growing corn. Admission was $5. It was a big success.

Other mazes began to spring up. In 1996, Brett Herbst heard about corn mazes. He had just graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in agribusiness. His professors told him that job prospects in that field were dim. So he got creative. He decided to design a corn maze. It was so much fun, he says, he kept going. Now he has helped to create more than 600 mazes all over the world. This year more than 160 of his mazes are available worldwide, including four in Utah, where his company is located.

Why would anyone want to wander in a field of corn? "I like solving puzzles," said one young visitor to the Crazy Corn maze that Mr. Herbst designed in West Jordan, Utah. "You can get lost, but you aren't really lost," said his sister. If you just keep walking, you'll find the exit eventually. Younger children often explore the maze with parents. "My toddler just likes to run around in the corn," said one father. "And my third-grader likes to solve the puzzles."

Many mazes have helpers inside who stay out of sight unless someone seems to be really lost and wants directions.

The Crazy Corn maze, like many others, is more than just a stroll through a field. Visitors get a map and a "passport" with 10 questions. Each question is linked to a station in the maze. Explorers punch a hole in their maps at each station. The stations also poses a question. A correct answer will help you through the maze.

Each group visiting the maze may get different questions. Church groups may get questions about the Bible. Another set of questions might help kids work together. (Example: "Recite 'This Little Piggy Went to Market,' and count the number of words in the song. If there are 36 words, go right. If there are 34, go left.")

If you find your way to at least eight stations inside the maze, you win a prize: candy, a free game of bowling, even a free dinner.

Right about now, some mazes become "haunted" for Halloween. Costumed helpers may jump out to assist (and startle) you. "It's not scary, it's fun scary," said one fourth-grade girl.

One family who visited the 13-acre Crazy Corn maze said they live nearby and had been watching the corn grow all summer, waiting for it to be tall enough. (Had they watched closely, they might have been able to memorize the paths!)

Cornfields are usually planted in straight-across rows. "Maze" corn is planted in blocks, perhaps 10 feet square. Rows in the blocks are planted diagonally. Adjoining blocks are planted with the diagonal rows going different ways. That's so maze-goers can't just look down the rows to see where they are. Herbst designs the mazes on his computer, then uses stakes to map out the paths in the field when the corn is about three inches high. (He carved his first maze out of a field of tall corn. Starting with short plants is much easier.)

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