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Fifth Grade Fun with Annual
State Fair

Khai Tyler's poster of Delaware was one of the many informative displays at the State Fair.

Once a year the Lower School gymnasium sheds its utilitarian clothing and dons a coat bespeckled with Americana for the annual Fifth Grade State Fair. The plain walls and open space are filled by colorful, informative display booths of the 50 states, and the faded basketball court yields to the excited footsteps of lower school students and parents as they learn about their country from the informed fifth grade students manning the displays.

As a culmination of their colonial studies curriculum, fifth grade students chose a U.S. state or territory and create informative and interactive projects to show off their knowledge. Each display includes a fun interactive game relating to the state, and in most cases, prizes indigenous to the state are handed out. Whether digging for plastic crabs in a sand box while learning about Maryland, or tossing rings onto a Mardi Gras mannequin for plastic beads a la Louisiana, the marriage of fun and learning makes for a great event. 

“It has become increasingly easier to motivate the kids to make wonderful displays and creative games, since they see what others have done over the years before they ever have to do it themselves,” says fifth grade teacher Jack Denny-Brown. “The kids really put a lot of work into this, and that pride comes through in the final product.”

The State Fair tradition was begun in 1989 by former fifth grade teacher Lynda Dugas, P’17, as a take off on the World’s campus-voices-all.htmlFair. Denny-Brown took the reins later and created the current beloved incarnation.

“When Lynda switched to Grade Four, I picked up the idea and changed it to a State Fair, because I felt that would be more in line with our colonial studies curriculum,” said Denny-Brown. “In the years that followed, we added the interactive games.”

The games are a big part of the Fair’s success, but they were not always the focus.

“Originally the visiting classes would walk about and talk to the presenters about their state, but we felt there needed to be some game component, so we came up with the idea of state games—and the food followed closely behind,” explains Denny-Brown. 

This year featured the usual well thought out displays and offered fun and facts to the many visitors.  Some of the highlights included:

Austin Clapp studied Puerto Rico and learned that it is a territory, not a state, having twice voted down a chance for statehood (most recently in 1998).

Amy Roberts learned about Nevada—“my favorite part was reading about all of the different landscapes within the state, including the lake created by the Hoover Dam,” said Roberts.  “It’s very varied.”

During her study of Georgia, Chloe Tiffany learned about ‘The Varsity’, the largest fast-food restaurant in the country.  “It serves over 2 miles worth of hot dogs every day!” exclaimed Tiffany.

Amanda Lifford took on New York, home to many landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.  “It’s a special state for me because my parents met there,” said Lifford.

Alaska piqued the interest Sebastien Ridore who learned that it holds the tallest mountain in the country, Mount McKinley.

William Marshall researched North Carolina, home to Salem, the first English colony in America.  “It was also the home to the Wright brothers, the fathers of modern flight and the airplane,” said Marshall.

Istvan Chung now knows that Virginia is home to the Big Eared Bat, and holds the 12th largest population in the country.

Kentucky holds the heart of Amanda Madigan who informed visitors that it is the home of the Kentucky Derby—“and my grandparents!”

Sophia Applbaum wanted to choose a state with a rich cultural background and studied Alabama, the home to the civil rights movement.  “Rosa Parks was from Alabama,” said Applbaum.

Jonathan Brudnick studied Texas—“the oil capital of the country.”  Brudnick set up an inventive game where visitors had to drill for oil with a toy helicopter.

For a photo gallery of the State Fair, CLICK HERE.