Topsfield Fair 2017

While the first grade was at the fair...
           The moment we stepped off the bus and into the unusually warm, autumn air, we were off! Ready to explore and conquer the fair!     

     Our class' first stop was in the beekeeping building to learn all about bees from the American Honey Queen herself! She explained

how bees grow from eggs into adult bees, the two different types of bees (drone (worker) bees and a queen bee), and their jobs within the hive. The Honey Queen also took the group through the process of how bees make honey and how the worker bees eat the honey as their food. She showed us pictures inside of the hive, the growing bees in the honey combs, and the ingredients the worker bees have to go get in order to make nectar and honey. Once the American Honey Queen gave the students all of the information they needed to know about bees, each student was able to watch a live honey comb and pick out where the queen bee was located. All of the students found the queen bee. It was unbee-lievable!

     After wrapping up our honey bee class, we walked over to  where the elephant show usually takes place. To our surprise, they had changed the show to an information camel show instead! During the camel show, we learned about dromedary and bactrian camels and how to tell them apart. Dromedary camels have a lot of creamy tan hair, woolly ears and nostrils to keep sand out, and live in dry, hot places such as Australia and the Middle East. Bactrian camels have two humps that look like a 'B' and live in colder areas such as Russia. Both of the camels that they had out for the audience were dromedary camels. Some other facts we learned were they have long necks to eat grass, they only have teeth on the bottom of their mouth besides their back molars, and they are vegetarians. We also learned that the hump on their back consists of a fatty saturated tissue that stores water. They feed off of it when food and water is scarce. The show was very informative and allowed the students to learn more about camels!

          All of the groups were able venture off and explore around the educational parts of the fair until lunch time. There are many fun and exciting experiences that the fair offers. Some of the attractions students observed were prize-winning rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens,  roosters, vegetables, and pumpkin decorating. Other attractions were the incubation of chicks, and learning about honey bees. Students were also able to learn about products some of the different animals are needed to make, such as sheering sheep for their wool, milking cows for their milk, and wax from honey bees. 

           The first graders had such a fun experience at the fair on Thursday. It was a beautiful, sunny day to experience all of the sights, sounds, and smells the fair had to offer. When the students returned back to the school, they had a time of reflection. Students thought about their experience through the five senses (sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch) and explained each sense they experienced using descriptive words. They all came to the same conclusion that "The fair food smelled delicious". I would have to agree with them!


     Our Topsfield Fair trip would not have been possible without our first graders, the amazing parent volunteers, our fantastic bus driver, and the staff of the fair. Thank you!