Contact: Maridith Geuder
Weighty woods, chatty computers and pickled pine will be among the highlights Oct. 16-20 when Mississippi State hosts a major fall event.
Held on the grounds of the R.T. Clapp Forest Products Laboratory, the sixth annual Wood Magic Science Fair is expected to attract to the university nearly 8,000 third- and fourth- graders and their teachers for educational activities and hands-on demonstrations.
The laboratory, located at 100 Blackjack Rd., and the Forest and Wildlife Research Center co-sponsor the program with support from wood products industries.
In concurrent two-and-a-half hour segments, Wood Magic illustrates the importance and uses of one of the state's most abundant natural resources. Approximately 60 classes daily experience activities designed to illustrate the impact of Mississippi's forest industry.
The program includes:
--"Wood Sandwiches," an illustration of the plywood-making process;
--"Rock Stars," a game to guess how much weight a thin piece of wood can hold;
--"Talking Computers," software obeying commands in seven languages as it directs a wood router in cutting designs;
--"Sound of Music," a staff concert featuring instruments made of wood;
--"Wood Pickles," a wood preservation demonstration; and
--"Bubbling Bazookas," a competition that awards wooden yo-yos to students blowing the best bubble through a small red oak block.
Participants also are provided with snacks, lunch and commemorative T-shirts.