Department of Education State Fair booth to focus on civics education and engagement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact: Randy Wanke |
MEDIA ADVISORY
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STATE FAIR BOOTH TO FOCUS ON
CIVICS EDUCATION AND ENGAGEMENT
St. Paul – As Minnesota continues to celebrate its 150th birthday and with a major national political convention coming to town, this year’s Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) State Fair Booth will host several activities to highlight the importance of civics education.
Programs including Kids Voting, CivicFest and Minnesota History Day Activities will be featured.
The booth will open early Thursday with a Civics Bowl competition, featuring students from several schools around the state demonstrating their civics and history knowledge. The opposing team will feature local media personalities and Minnesota legislators.
In partnership with Kids Voting, and throughout the fair, MDE will also provide elementary school students with an opportunity to vote for the animal they believe should be Minnesota’s official state mammal. The four choices will be white-tail deer, moose, black bear and timber wolf. More information about Kids Voting can be found at: www.kidsvoting.com.
In addition to the civics events, the MDE booth will feature other outstanding Minnesota students and education programs.
MDE State Fair Booth Schedule
Thursday, August 21
• Civics Bowl -- 8:20 a.m.
• Kids Voting kick off -- All Day
Friday, August 22
• Anoka-Hennepin STEP Program – All Day
• Arlington High School BIOSmart Program – 10:00 a.m.
• Crime Scene Investigation -- 10:00 a.m.
• Bio-Engineering & technology robotics -- 11:30 a.m.
• Bio-Business & marketing -- 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 23
• Minnesota’s School Chess Association takes on “all challengers” in five-minute BLITZ chess games -- 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Minnesota History Center History quiz, “How Much Do You Know About Your Home State?” -- All Day
Sunday, August 24
• Award-winning SuperMileage cars from Minnesota Project Lead the Way – All Day
Monday, August 25
• Early childhood education day with fun activities from the Minnesota Children’s Museum -- 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Holy Angels Theater Department Starlight Productions performance -- 3:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. (On the Education Stage)
Tuesday, August 26
• C3online demonstration. C3online is a partnership between several organizations that offer many different kinds of postsecondary resources and services to youth and young adults including youth with disabilities -- 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Minnesota Career Information System – MCIS is a career assessment and planning tool for students -- 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Ready or Not Writing Rubric -- All Day
• Centennial High School theater department vocal performances -- 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (On the Education Stage)
Wednesday, August 27
• CivicFest – All Day
• Minnesota History Quiz – courtesy of the Minnesota History Center -- All Day
Thursday, August 28
• MDE’s Math Specialist provides math puzzles and quizzes -- All Day
• Math Counts -- 1:00 p.m. -- 3:00 pm
• Perpich Arts High School student performers -- 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (On the Education Stage)
Friday, August 29
• Minnesota Teacher Recruitment Website demos -- All Day
• Apply for or renew your teaching license online -- All Day
• German immersion program -- 1:45 p.m. 2:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.
• Wayzata's Scholars of Distinction in a variety show of dance and more -- 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (On the Education Stage)
• Minnetonka student vocal performance -- 3:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. (On the Education Stage)
Saturday, August 30
• Project Lead the Way middle school program featured -- All Day
Sunday, August 31
Yellow Ribbon Day: Support for students with parents /families serving in the military
• Minnesota National Guard members will read to kids in MDE booth
• Table space with blank postcards and writing materials available for children
to write notes to U.S. Troops
Monday, September 1
• Kids Voting finalizes balloting and will announce the results of the state mammal election
(Unless indicated otherwise, all activities will take place at the MDE booth,
which is located in the Education Building.)
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