Contact: Bob Ratliff
Wood "sandwiches," "rock stars" and the "world's smartest termites" will be among the 2001 highlights of Mississippi State University's nationally recognized Wood Magic Science Fair.
The seventh annual event Oct. 15-19 is expected to bring nearly 7,000 third- and fourth-graders and their teachers from around the state to the Mississippi Horse Park, AgriCenter and Fairgrounds. The facility is located approximately three miles south of Starkville just off South Montgomery Street.
Approximately 60 classes per day will experience visual and hands-on demonstrations of the importance and value of Mississippi's most abundant natural resources--trees--and the billion-dollar forest industry they support. Participants also receive snacks and lunches during their campus visit.
Hosted by the university's College of Forest Resources and sponsored by forestry and forest products industries, Wood Magic was designed to provide an innovative approach for teaching young people about science, mathematics and the need to conserve natural resources. Its success was formally recognized earlier this year in Washington, D.C.
At June ceremonies, Secretary Ann Veneman presented the program with the United States Department of Agriculture Honor Award for "notable contributions to the nation, public service and the department's mission." She noted that Wood Magic had reached more than 60,000 students, teachers and parents since being created in 1994.
Highlights of this year's Wood Magic schedule include:
--Wood Sandwiches, a demonstration of the plywood-making process;
--Rock Stars, a guessing game to determine how much weight a thin piece of wood will hold;
--Daily Wood, an illustration of wood's daily uses in toothpaste, ice cream, furniture, and film, among others; and
--The World's Smartest Termites, which will introduce the word "pheromone" to young vocabularies.
The Wood Magic curriculum was developed by faculty members Dan Seale, Michael Barnes and Terry Conners, along with senior research assistants Amy W. Garrard and Jason Lang. In 1997, a mobile classroom was added to help reach schools unable to send students to the annual Starkville event.