As the culminating project for the sixth grade social studies curriculum, the entire grade created a Travel Fair. The fair, which transported visitors to China, India, Rome and Greece, was visited by the fourth grade classes and many faculty members. At the fair, each group of students presented a large-scale model of an ancient attraction, a detailed research report on Google Slides and an interactive exhibit that immersed the visitors into different ancient civilizations.

Before deciding which parts of their research they wanted to recreate, each group conducted research about life in the present-day civilizations and life in ancient times. The students organized their research and sources in collaborative Google Docs. They discovered how some components of a civilization, such as boundaries and government, have changed, while others, including some religions, remain unchanged for thousands of years.

At the fair, the visiting students participated in a variety of activities. They dined in Italian and Chinese restaurants, and learned how to prepare unique side dishes and salads. The visitors even purchased the food with ancient currency! The visitors received step-by-step instructions on how to sculpt clay to look like Leonardo da Vinci’s work. Using the perfect combination of soil and water, another group demonstrated how to create mud bricks used to build homes in ancient times. Trivia Jenga, ancient civilization Monopoly and discus throwing were some of the games created by the sixth grade students. Other stations included scripts for skits and costumes ready to be donned by visiting actors and actresses. When the visiting students wanted a change of pace, they had the chance to create beautifully folded paper art projects and participate in meditation.

In addition to the interactive component from each civilization, the Travel Fair participants got to “visit” a tourist attraction from that civilization. Some popular attractions were the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Colosseum and Great Wall of China. Beautifully detailed murals of famous volcanoes were on display for viewing. The Taj Mahal was another popular attraction visited by the fourth grade students.

The sixth grade students enjoyed the opportunity to share their work at the Travel Fair and take the visitors on a trip to ancient times.