2006 Multi-Cultural Fair: An International Exploration for Kids
Thursday, October 5, 2006
More than 500 Oklahoma fourth graders are expected to gather at the Wes Watkins Center
in Stillwater on Friday, Oct. 13, for the second annual Oklahoma State University
“Multicultural Fair: An International Exploration for Kids.”
Sponsored by the OSU College of Education and the School of International Studies,
the event gives Oklahoma children the opportunity to participate in learning activities
presented by international students, faculty and community volunteers. Presenters
from 19 countries will describe and demonstrate significant practices and arts representative
of their cultures, help students learn a few words in their languages, teach dances
or sports skills, and inform students about the geography, climate, foods, pastimes,
music and crafts of their homelands.
Classroom teachers will receive teaching materials designed to aid them in developing
additional units of instruction during the school year.
The Multicultural Fair is designed to support teachers in addressing the Oklahoma
curriculum requirement that students must learn about cultures and environments--their
own and those of others with whom they share the earth.
Students, as well as their teachers, benefit from the fair by broadening their exposure
to other points of view and other ways of doing things. OSU student volunteers in
language and education fields gain the opportunity to work with children in a setting
that brings them “out of the classroom.” They practice management skills, communication
skills, language skills, and learn along with the children about the cultural practices
and products of others with whom they may not have interacted before. In doing so,
they benefit from the university’s commitment to providing diverse experiences for
the student body.
For more information on the 2006 Multicultural Fair, contact RuthAnn McCarthy Sirbaugh
at (405) 744-6254.