By Kate Friesema 

The Growing Minds Fair took place on Nov. 19, following the school day from 3-5pm in the Hopedale High School Cafeteria. 

Grades K-6 students were walked down from the elementary school to the high school with volunteers where they were able to grab a snack and name tag before listening to the fair’s sponsor, Children Across America. 

The goal of the fair was to expose kids to STREAM topics and inspire them to pursue STREAM related careers. Kate Friesema, Emma Friesema, and Savannah Sene allcollaborated to personally pick every activity and ensure that each aspect of running the fair was in order. 

All letters of STREAM correlated with a fun and engaging activity that matched the specific skills and knowledge of the different grades participating. 

For example, the engineering station included art supplies to craft a turkey cage for mini turkey figurines, and the science station involved slime making. 

The fair was a tremendous success with over 90 kids participating and 30 volunteers which made the event possible. One of the volunteers from the Research station remarked, “The Growing Minds Fair was fun for both me and the kids and at my station; all the kids were engaged. The team that created it made all of the activities fun and engaging for the very large age group they were working with. I am excited to volunteer next year!” (Gabby Rinehart, volunteer at the research station) Thank you to Children Across America for sponsoring the event! To leam more about FREE STREAM educational programs (Girls Love to Code, Saturday STREAM, Summer

STREAM and more), visit childrenacrossamerica.org