Excitement filled the air on Oct. 23 at Mississippi State University as third and fourth graders from across the state gathered to experience the 31st annual Wood Magic Science Fair. Hosted by MSU’s Department of Sustainable Bioproducts within the College of Forest Resources, the fair aims to foster an understanding of the vital role forestry and wood products play in everyday life.
For these young students, the Wood Magic Science Fair offers an opportunity to learn outside the classroom through hands-on activities and demonstrations. Throughout the day, they explored the renewable nature of wood, its recyclability, and the essential role it plays in many common products. The fair also introduces them to over 2,000 products made from wood, from the lumber in their homes to paper products, and even less obvious items like toothpaste and ketchup.
“This fair is designed to be the field trip that every kid remembers,” said Dr. Dan Seale, a professor with MSU’s College of Forest Resources who has been involved with the fair since its early years. “We want them to see, touch, and even smell wood. It’s all about engaging as many senses as possible so they walk away understanding that wood impacts our lives every day.”
The day began with a video showing the journey of a tree from forest to finished products, providing context for the rest of the day’s activities. One of the most popular hands-on activities was a plywood assembly station, where students could assemble and press wood layers, much like making a grilled cheese sandwich. Using wood panels as “bread” and a paper glue that doesn’t stick to hands, they assembled the plywood, then used a jack to apply pressure, mimicking a factory press.
The fair also featured a small sawmill where students observed a demonstration on how logs are cut into boards, offering insight into the initial steps of lumber production. Dr. Seale and his team aim to involve as many senses as possible.
“They get to feel the wood’s texture, see the sawdust, and even smell the fresh wood,” he said. “These kinds of sensory experiences make the learning stick.”
Another favorite among students was the “wood pickles” demonstration, where they learned about the process of pressure-treating wood, often used to create durable outdoor materials. In this demonstration, they watched wood being “treated” with a green food coloring solution while cartoon clips on termite damage underscored the importance of protecting wood. In another room, they explored wood chemistry, including a discussion on nitrocellulose, which was once used in early film and is highly flammable. This segment highlighted how wood products have evolved to meet safety standards, helping students connect history with science.
One crowd-pleasing activity was the “rock stars” challenge, where a thin piece of wood was tested to see how much weight it could hold before snapping.
“They love it,” Dr. Seale said, “especially when they get to guess the weight before it breaks and win a prize if they get close.”
After a pizza lunch—served in cardboard boxes and napkins, also made from wood-based materials—the students gathered for one final classroom session where they were introduced to various wood-based products.
“Every child, woman, and man in the U.S. uses about five and a half pounds of wood every day,” Dr. Seale explained. “It’s in packaging, paper products, even the containers that hold our French fries at fast-food restaurants. Most kids don’t realize just how much wood touches their lives daily.”
Dr. Seale also used the fair to communicate a broader message about the role of forestry in sustainability.
“When you cut a tree down, something good happens,” he said. “Forest owners are paid for their trees, which supports local economies and jobs. Additionally, harvesting reduces the risk of wildfires by removing fuel buildup. This is a big issue in places like California, where restricted tree cutting has led to massive fires that are difficult to control. Here in the South, we manage our forests as a renewable resource, cutting and replanting trees like any other crop, though trees take longer to grow.”
To finish the day, students created their own sheets of paper, working with wood pulp to understand firsthand how a tree is transformed into the pages they write on. Each child captured the wood fibers on a screen and dried them with an iron, producing a small piece of paper to take home as a souvenir.
The Wood Magic Science Fair is sponsored by the Mississippi Forestry Association, the Mississippi Lumber Manufacturers Association, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Viance, LLC, and the Mississippi State Forest and Wildlife Research Center. The event’s reach has grown significantly since it began with a few classes from Starkville, Columbus, and West Point in the 1990s, expanding to become a beloved annual event for Mississippi students and teachers.
Dr. Seale and his team are committed to sparking curiosity and respect for forestry, ensuring that each child leaves the fair with a new appreciation for the trees around them and the sustainable resources they provide. “It’s our hope that we’re planting seeds,” he said, “to inspire the next generation to consider careers in forestry or simply to be more aware of how we can all contribute to sustainability.”
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