Authentic Writing Experiences for July - Fun at the Fair

Summer and fall are the time for local fairs to pop up all around the country. Whether or not you are attending a real fair, consider reading Mr. Ferris and His Wheel written by Kathyrn Gibbs Davis and illustrated by Gilbert Ford. It's a picture book for all ages about the engineering and construction behind the first Ferris Wheel. It was first designed by engineer George Ferris as part of a competition to create something entirely new for the featured attraction for the Chicago World's Fair. 

George Ferris originally got his idea for this unique amusement park ride as he studied the water wheel near the home where he grew up.  He imagined something on a much larger scale that could carry people instead of water. 

If you do go to the fair, be sure to visit the Expo tent. This is the area where entrepreneurs demonstrate new products. Some will be things you've never seen before. When I was young, my parents didn't want to spend money on tickets for the rides, so we spent all of our time at the free exhibits. This can be a place where kids get bored, but you can make it fun by asking them questions about the products they see. Stimulate their imagination. Many of the gadgets have practical uses. You may even inspire your young person to invent the next new household cleaning aid or fly swatter.

Great inventions often begin with observing the world around us and imagining ordinary things repurposed in a brand-new way. Imagine how the following might be turned into an amusement park attraction: a slippy slide, a tree house, a gopher tunnel, a pinwheel, a whirligig, or even a flying seed.

Building on last month's idea of a nature journal, encourage kids to observe everyday things in the world around them and reimagine them for different uses. They could make a list in their nature journal or start a brand new journal for invention ideas. They might even build a design for their own unique amusement park attraction and create a 3D model with a paragraph describing it. 

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