Almost 50 projects lined the school hallways on April 23. Participating students in grades 2-5 were tasked with doing a project that allowed another person to learn something by looking at their project presentation. Students in grades K-1 put together Learning Fair "collections" in which they categorized some of their favorite things at home.

The Learning Fair, now in its third year, is an enrichment activity that students typically work on during their free time at home. Some students choose to work in teams, and others choose to work on their own.

"The fair gets kids thinking about how they present information, and in many cases, about how to work collaboratively with others," said Principal Joby Gifford. "We had a lot of diversity in the projects."

This year's grades 2-5 learning project themes included:

• Learn How to Grow Sweet Corn
• What Makes Your Heart Beat Faster - Walking, Running, or Jumping?
• How Many Pennies Fill a Gallon Jug?
• What is the Saguaro Cactus?
• Which Flower Grows the Fastest?
• Do Pulleys Reduce the Amount of Force Used to Lift an Object?

This year's grades K-1 collection project themes included:

• Quarters of the 50 States
• Rocks
• Books
• Sea Shells
• Pictures of Friends
• Fasteners
• Erasers

Some teachers turned the day of the fair into an educational activity by bringing their whole class down to view the projects.

"Wow, that's cool!" and "Look over here!" could be heard down the hallway as students looked at projects such as the one that showed how rainbows are made and another that included video footage of dogs in a multi-media presentation. The project pictured at right shows one student's candy collection - a popular stop on the Learning Fair tour!

Click on the images below for more Learning Fair projects.