MISSISSIPPI STATE -- About 4,000 fourth-graders, teachers and parents from across the state will be at Mississippi State University Oct. 14-18 for the annual Wood Magic Science Fair.   

Activities and exhibits illustrating everything from papermaking to the strength of a toothpick-sized piece of wood are part of the annual event at the Forest Products Lab complex during the week. 

Sponsored by the university’s College of Forest Resources, the event is designed to illustrate the importance of natural resources throughout the state. 

Moving through 10 stations, students will see demonstrations, get hands-on experience and learn interesting facts about conserving, sustaining and utilizing trees, the most abundant renewable resource.

Wood Magic includes several major demonstrations and exhibits:

• A portable sawmill that turns rough logs into lumber and helps introduce such terms as heartwood, sapwood and residues.
• “Wood sandwiches” to illustrate how plywood is made.
• Furniture testing, including computerized evaluations of cushions and frames.
• “Bubbling bazookas” that transform small oak billets into bubble blowers and illustrate the density, hardness and permeability of wood.
• Wildlife antlers and horns to illustrate the differences in animals and show what a skull reveals about an animal’s lifestyle. 

For more information, contact David Jones, associate Extension professor in the Forest and Wildlife Research Center, at 662-325-8454 or pdjones@ext.msstate.edu.