September 26, 2024 —

Students from a number of Illinois schools stepped up and helped out in our science tent this year. Unfortunately, we did not have enough volunteers to provide a great experience to our guests during the week, so we made the hard decision to not have our tent open on Tuesday through Thursday of the Fair week. In spite of that, our tent was very successful and attracted a large number of visitors. Photos from the first weekend can be seen here.

The weather was wonderful for the first few days of the Fair, with a light breeze and cool temperatures, usually below 80 degrees.

Our wonderful "Soma cube puzzle" was still on our front lawn to challenge our visitors.  Please enjoy some of our photos from our activities at the Fair..

This is a very rewarding activity and a chance to meet new colleagues while reaching out to the public. We need demonstrators, individuals willing to help with hands-on activities and individuals who are a jack-of-all-trades.  We can train you.  Come for a shift, or for the day, or participate for several days.  We provide free parking and admission to the Fair for our volunteers.  There are nearby reasonably priced hotels, motels and campgrounds for accommodations during the Fair.  If you do join us, please bring a bottle of water, a hat, and lots of sunscreen.

Conservation World, where our tent is located, will be open from 10 AM to 7 PM each day in 2024. 

Here's some helpful maps.  We have been in about the same place since 2016.

Most of the experiments that we perform at the tent and many more may be found on our Resources for Educators page.

Check out our daily update of our activities at the Fair.

All volunteers that helped us at the Fair were given a flash drive as a token of our appreciation. 

Information for our visitors at the Fair:

• ChemShorts for Kids - over 220 experiments you can do at home
• Link to the experiments at the Fair 

 

Please help:  If we are to continue to have a tent at the Fair, we really need donations and volunteers.  Whatever you can do to help will be appreciated.

 

Here are the links to:

• Map and directions to and in the fairgrounds
• Descriptions of some of the experiments you may have seen in our tent.
• The chemistry and science quiz that was running in our tent.
• The list of over 220 experiments to do with young kids.
• Link to the full list of educational resources available on the CD distributed to educators.
• Become a sponsor of our tent.

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Photos from the 2024 Fair

Photos from Previous Years:

 

A consortium of Illinois Sections of the American Chemical Society hosts a booth at the Illinois State Fair.   We present a variety of exciting chemistry demonstrations and hands-on activities suitable for young students, as well as an interactive simple chemistry quiz.  Literature is available on environmental issues, lists of educational resources, and ACS activities for students, science teachers, and the general public.  Packets of information, and a CPDU credit, are offered to teachers visiting our booth.

Where is our tent?  Here are some maps to help you find your way.  Conservation World is in the north-west corner of the Fairgrounds.  Local weather near the Fairgrounds.