MSU launching 2000 schedule for 'wood magic' road show

Contact: Bob Ratliff

A Mississippi State traveling show is hitting the road, but youngsters attending won't be seeing any rabbits pulled from hats.

The university's Wood Magic Science Fair is taking to the highway to bring its special brand of educational enchantment to elementary school students and others throughout the state.

The Wood Magic Mobile Classroom will visit the Jones County Forestry and Wood Products Expo in Laurel April 7-8 and the North Mississippi Teachers Conservation Workshop June 18 in Booneville. The Lincoln County Forestry Association also is sponsoring a session in Brookhaven Sept. 28-29.

"The mobile classroom is an outgrowth of the Wood Magic Science Fair held at MSU's Forest Products Laboratory each fall," said program coordinator David E. Headley. "The goal of both programs is to use fun activities to teach elementary students about the importance of forests and forest products in their lives."

Headley said the classroom is equipped to show students the "magic" of how wood is transformed into paper and other products that they use every day.

"Our presenters also carry an important message about how forests are a renewable resource for Mississippi," he added.

Almost 20,000 individuals have participated in the classroom's programs since it first hit the road in 1996. The 44-foot-long classroom has traveled to more than 30 Mississippi cities and towns. It also has represented the state at events in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Forest industry donations helped purchase the mobile classroom and outfit it with a professional-quality sound system, large-screen televisions, portable stages, papermaking equipment, a plywood press, and other equipment used in demonstrations.

A recent $30,000 donation by Georgia-Pacific Corp. will help fund the mobile classroom's 2000 schedule. Since 1996, G-P has contributed more than $100,000 to the Wood Magic program.

"All the schools in Jones and Lincoln counties will have an opportunity to visit the classroom during the Laurel and Brookhaven visits," Headley said.

"Visits to other sites are in the works and will be added to the mobile classroom schedule as they are confirmed."

For additional information about the MSU Wood Magic Mobile Classroom and its 2000 schedule, telephone Headley at (662) 325-0348. His e-mail is dheadley@cfr.msstate.edu.