The fair’s newest educational component launched at the 2012 fair, “Fair in a Box.” Put a Fair in a Box and what do you get? Science. Technology. Engineering. Mathmatics. … STEM. Put a Fair in a Box learning kit in a school classroom and what do you get? Students THINKING like a scientist. Students WRITING like a scientist. Students TALKING like a scientist. Students READING like a scientist. Refer to The Great Frederick Fair as the Fair in a Box and what do you get? Fairgoers making real connections to their life, agriculture and science.

For K-fifth grade students in Frederick County Public Schools, that’s exactly what they got pre- Great Frederick Fair, during their fair field trips, and post fair … 80 classrooms outfitted with Fair in a Box kits filled with artifacts and materials focusing on the fair’s 44-acre scientific “mini labs.” A creative way to introduce young students into science, the fair’s field trips are designed to teach different grade levels different science techniques. This self-guided tour also engages the non-agricultural going public into this exercise by utilizing the Fair in a Box Guide.

No matter what age, or what grade level, fairgoers were encouraged to Think like a Scientist … look at the fair as a science lab. They were encouraged to seek their scientific information through reading, observation, exploration and investigation when visiting the various mini labs. For the pre-fair classroom tours, each Fair in a Box kit contained items including but not limited to feed corn, straw, toy farm machinery, pre-packaged coffee creamers, hay, sweet feed, livestock ear tags and, horse hair.