Events
Friday, August 28
University Recreation and Wellness
Booth will provide information on RecWell Programs and Services offered to the Community: Youth Programs Summer Camps, Gopher Swim School Swim Lessons and Water Safety, Group Fitness/Massage, and Gear Rentals from the Center for Outdoor Adventure
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Research on a Stick!
- RELATE Study: How Partners Stay Connected Under Stress
- Text Us! The State Fair Experience Study
- Health and Wellness Check with a State Fair Twist
- Project CONNECT: Help Shape the Future of Teen Mental Health
- Great Minnesota Public Opinion Survey
- North Rising: Youth Perspectives on Health Care Access in Minnesota
- Telehelping Families of Children with Behavioral and Mental Health Needs
- Spit it Out!
- Can you feel this?
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Vote for your favorite apple!
CFANS pop-up learning!
Vote for your favorite apple variety and explore what the University of Minnesota Department of Horticultural Science — Home of the Honeycrisp — has to offer! Learn more about Horticultural Science.
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Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain
Extension is partnering with the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain to improve access to mental, emotional, developmental and behavioral health (MEDB) care for rural and military-connected families. Based out of the North Central Research and Outreach Center in Grand Rapids, a Telehealth Outreach Center serves as the hub for this work across the northeast region. Stop by and visit with team members, who will connect families to resources and educational opportunities.
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Research on a Stick!
- RELATE Study: How Partners Stay Connected Under Stress
- Great Minnesota Public Opinion Survey
- Studying Planning by Playing Tetris
- How's Your Balance?
- Health and Wellness Check with a State Fair Twist
- Beyond Closed Doors
- Telehelping Families of Children with Behavioral and Mental Health Needs
- The Blue-Ribbon Bladder Study: Understanding Women’s Self Care
- Spit it Out!
- Having the AI Talk
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Field Research Challenge
CFANS pop-up learning!
Get hands-on with Minnesota ecology! Explore field research from Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, featuring fun activities on mammals, birds, plants, and more to discover the science happening in your backyard. Learn more about Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve.
Saturday, August 29
Use the Force
This exhibit is an interactive experimentation station for attendees to explore magnetic forces. Attendees will be guided through a set of open-ended activities to create and use both electromagnets and permanent magnets to make paper clips jump, shoot a marble, and spin a motor. We will bring to the station simple supplies (wires, batteries, alligator clips, bolts, permanent magnets, marbles, etc.) and instructional signage that our graduate student staff will use with the attendees. This booth has been developed with NSF funding in partnership with UW-Extension and 4-H and used to engage K-12 youth at over 30 events in the last 5 years.
Bell Museum
Each day we will have a prize pack raffle!
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Research on a Stick!
- Text Us! The State Fair Experience Study
- Health and Wellness Check with a State Fair Twist
- Hidradenitis Suppurativa in Minnesota — How Common Is It?
- Kids' Emotion Study
- Put Your Shoulder Into Science!
- "Fair" Game: Generational Factors in Assessing Cognition
- How's Your Balance?
- Curious About Cannabis
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7Days A Cappella
7Days A Cappella aims to showcase the musical talents of the art/entertainment community at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Our showcase will include our biggest pop hits, such as our "Pop Girl Medley" and "Bye" by Ariana Grande. Our performance will creative a positive energy that is sure to get everyone up on their feet and dancing through the streets of the State Fair—and we encourage audience members to sing along!
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Are you smarter than AI?
CFANS pop-up learning!
Compete against an artificial intelligence (AI) image classifier to identify common management challenges in agriculture and forestry. Learn more about the AI-LEAF Institute.
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7Days A Cappella
7Days A Cappella aims to showcase the musical talents of the art/entertainment community at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Our showcase will include our biggest pop hits, such as our "Pop Girl Medley" and "Bye" by Ariana Grande. Our performance will creative a positive energy that is sure to get everyone up on their feet and dancing through the streets of the State Fair—and we encourage audience members to sing along!
-
Research on a Stick!
- RELATE Study: How Partners Stay Connected Under Stress
- Put Your Shoulder Into Science!
- I like to move it, move it: Come walk with us!
- Studying Planning by Playing Tetris
- 10,000 Families Study
- Spot It Early
- The Blue-Ribbon Bladder Study: Understanding Women’s Self Care
- Can you feel this?
- Duck, Duck, Screened Duck: Know Newborn Screening?
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7Days A Cappella
7Days A Cappella aims to showcase the musical talents of the art/entertainment community at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Our showcase will include our biggest pop hits, such as our "Pop Girl Medley" and "Bye" by Ariana Grande. Our performance will creative a positive energy that is sure to get everyone up on their feet and dancing through the streets of the State Fair—and we encourage audience members to sing along!
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Insect Zoo
CFANS pop-up learning!
See and touch creepy crawlies from the University of Minnesota Puparium Insect Zoo! Learn more about the UMN Insect Club and the Department of Entomology.
Sunday, August 30
Solar Vehicle Project
An all-day exhibition of one of the most decorated Solar Vehicle project groups in the country!
"We have always aspired to keep innovation and learning at the forefront of what we do. The team has remained true to its original foundation as a student administered, designed, and built project that teaches members about engineering and management in a product development environment. In 2013, we were the first American team to compete in the Cruiser Class at the World Solar Challenge. The Cruiser Class is about more than just speed; competitors are also scored based off of how practical their car is. We were also the first team to race a multi-occupant vehicle at the American Solar Challenge."
Bell Museum
Each day we will have a prize pack raffle!
-
Research on a Stick!
- RELATE Study: How Partners Stay Connected Under Stress
- Civic Research in Action!
- Project CONNECT: Help Shape the Future of Teen Mental Health
- Put Your Shoulder Into Science!
- I like to move it, move it: Come walk with us!
- "Fair" Game: Generational Factors in Assessing Cognition
- Studying Planning by Playing Tetris
- 10,000 Families Study
- North Rising: Youth Perspectives on Health Care Access in Minnesota
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Society for Ecological Restoration
CFANS pop-up learning!
Interactive pop-up learning session hosted by the Society for Ecological Restoration. Learn more about the UMN Society for Ecological Restoration.
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Research on a Stick!
- RELATE Study: How Partners Stay Connected Under Stress
- From Pamphlets to Videos: Optimizing Patient Education on Kidney Stone Prevention
- Experiences After Pregnancy Loss: Identifying Gaps in Follow-Up, Resources, and Support
- Health and Wellness Check with a State Fair Twist
- The HOME Study: Housing Opinion, Media, and Experiences
- Put Your Shoulder Into Science!
- Tooth Trouble: What would you do in a dental emergency?
- Choices in Voices: Listen to Learn!
- Beyond Closed Doors
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Salvage Wildlife with the Bell Museum
CFANS pop-up learning!
Help the Bell Museum learn more about Minnesota’s wildlife and ecosystems through Salvage Wildlife, a project that turns tragedies into scientific data. Learn more about Salvage Wildlife.
Monday, August 31
Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
GWEP will give out information about dementia, caregiving and healthy aging. OLLI will give out information about this membership organization, and the many enrichment and educational offerings.
Giveaway: Exercise resistance bands and ADA approved toothbrushes
Center for Genome Engineering: Creating Genetically Modified Cells to Cure Cancer
Explore how scientists at the Center for Genome Engineering have harnessed the power of CRISPR to sculpt the very essence of life - DNA! Imagine the possibilities as they use this biological tool to craft modified cells that are more capable of fighting cancer cells. Learn more about how this amazing process works and the success already happening in clinical trials.
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Research on a Stick!
- Sock it to PAD
- Put Your Thumb to the Test
- Tooth Trouble: What would you do in a dental emergency?
- Studying Planning by Playing Tetris
- How's Your Balance?
- The Blue-Ribbon Bladder Study: Understanding Women’s Self Care
- Create a Healthier Future
- Wildlife Health in Minnesota
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Park Boss: 60-second Ranger Challenge
CFANS pop-up learning!
Spin, solve, & save the forest! Spin the wheel for your ranger job, tackle a real-world scenario, and see if you have what it takes to protect Minnesota's great outdoors in our 60-second ranger challenge. Learn more about the UMN Department of Forest Resources.
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Research on a Stick!
- RELATE Study: How Partners Stay Connected Under Stress
- Modern Pregnancy in Minnesota
- Sock it to PAD
- Kids' Emotion Study
- Move Better, Age Smarter
- Put Your Thumb to the Test
- Studying Planning by Playing Tetris
- How's Your Balance?
- Choosing Sustainable Turfgrass for Home Lawns: Seed or Sod?
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Environmental Trivia Challenge
CFANS pop-up learning!
Put your green knowledge to the test! Whether you are a nature enthusiast or a full-blown climate champion, this is your chance to show off what you know about our amazing planet and the people that inhabit it—and walk away with a prize. Learn more about the UMN Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management major.
Tuesday, September 1
Lions Gift of Sight
Lions Gift of Sight recovers, medically evaluates and distributes donor eye tissue to transform lives through corneal transplants and research. In partnership with the University of Minnesota's Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, we have restored sight for more than 65 years and are supported by the Minnesota Lions Vision Foundation. We will share information and resources about how to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor with giveaway items.
Giveaway: Individually wrapped hot/cold eye packs, Lions Gift of Sight sunglasses, logo pens, individually wrapped fabric lens cloths (for cleaning glasses).
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Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain
Extension is partnering with the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain to improve access to mental, emotional, developmental and behavioral health (MEDB) care for rural and military-connected families. Based out of the North Central Research and Outreach Center in Grand Rapids, a Telehealth Outreach Center serves as the hub for this work across the northeast region. Stop by and visit with team members, who will connect families to resources and educational opportunities.
-
Research on a Stick!
- Who Let the Dogs Out?
- Sock it to PAD
- The HOME Study: Housing Opinion, Media, and Experiences
- Care Aware: Changing the Conversation on Substance Use
- Put Your Thumb to the Test
- Studying Planning by Playing Tetris
- How's Your Balance?
- Telehelping Families of Children with Behavioral and Mental Health Needs
- Curious About Cannabis
-
Vote for your favorite apple!
Vote for your favorite apple variety and explore what the UMN Department of Horticultural Science — Home of the Honeycrisp — has to offer! Learn more about the UMN Department of Horticultural Science.
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University of Minnesota Feature Twirlers
The University of Minnesota FeatureTwirlers are a three person baton twirling team within the U of M Marching Band, chosen through a rigorous multi round audition. Featuring accomplished national and world level champions, including Sydney, Greta, and Elliott, the team performs at football games and competes at the highest levels representing the university.
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Research on a Stick!
- Sock it to PAD
- The HOME Study: Housing Opinion, Media, and Experiences
- Care Aware: Understanding Opioids in Minnesota
- Choices in Voices: Listen to Learn!
- Studying Planning by Playing Tetris
- Beyond Closed Doors
- Telehelping Families of Children with Behavioral and Mental Health Needs
- Spit it Out!
- Create a Healthier Future
- Swish for Science
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Who eats your guts?
Learn about scavengers at hunter-provided gut piles and explore Minnesota food webs. Learn more about the University of Minnesota Offal Wildlife Watching project.
Wednesday, September 2
College of Liberal Arts
Join College of Liberal Arts (CLA) to discover how a liberal arts education is shaping the future of the fields you care about most. Meet our campus experts and dive into the surprising intersections of culture, humanity, and technology. From how we tackle AI and the digital world, to the human side of health & medicine, to the fascinating science behind pop culture—CLA is everywhere. Stop by, ask questions, and see how we're connecting the dots!
ATP-Bio (Advanced Technologies for the Preservation of Biological Systems)
Our exhibit offers a unique opportunity for fairgoers to delve into the future of cryopreservation and its potential to transform various aspects of society. For more information about ATP-Bio and its initiatives, please visit www.atp-bio.org
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Research on a Stick!
- Judge the Jab
- Experiences After Pregnancy Loss: Identifying Gaps in Follow-Up, Resources, and Support
- Attitudes About TMS After Video
- Heads Up: 3D Scans of your Head
- Ear of the Beholder
- Studying Planning by Playing Tetris
- Spot It Early
- Spit it Out!
- Duck, Duck, Screened Duck: Know Newborn Screening?
- Clean Water, Nature, and Wellbeing
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Wonderful Water Wednesday
Join the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center for Wonderful Water Wednesday!
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Mycology Astrology
Find your birth date on our chart to see what fungus matches your astrological sign! Learn more about the University of Minnesota Department of Plant Pathology.
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Research on a Stick!
- CLA on a Stick: A Fair Assessment
- Kids' Emotion Study
- Let’s Check Your Balance!
- VOICE - Views on Informed Consent Exceptions
- Studying Planning by Playing Tetris
- Improving Preoperative Instruction Comprehension to Enhance Patient Compliance
- North Rising: Youth Perspectives on Health Care Access in Minnesota
- Beyond Closed Doors
- Spit it Out!
- Little Scientist in Action
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Build a Better Future with BBE | Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
Discover how creative problem-solving can build a better future with the University of Minnesota Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering (BBE). Put your hands and brain to work with fun, interactive activities that explore real-world challenges in sustainability, science, and engineering. Learn more about UMN BBE.
Thursday, September 3
University of Minnesota Retirees Association
The University of Minnesota Retirees Association (UMRA) will offer an opportunity for fair-goers to connect with UMRA members to share retirement stories and experiences. UMRA members are University retirees who believe in living life fully and leaning into their retirement journeys. Through the UMRA State Fair booth experience, we seek to engage retirees and older Minnesotans to share their own retirement stories. We will offer activities that encourage conversation with booth hosts, discussion centered on the retirement journey, opportunities that exist for older Minnesotans at the University of Minnesota and through UMRA and its connections. Activities will encourage connecting.
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Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain
Extension is partnering with the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain to improve access to mental, emotional, developmental and behavioral health (MEDB) care for rural and military-connected families. Based out of the North Central Research and Outreach Center in Grand Rapids, a Telehealth Outreach Center serves as the hub for this work across the northeast region. Stop by and visit with team members, who will connect families to resources and educational opportunities.
-
Research on a Stick!
- Is College Even Worth it Anymore?
- The Great Minnesota Stack Together!
- Ear of the Beholder
- Move Better, Age Smarter
- Tooth Trouble: What would you do in a dental emergency?
- Studying Planning by Playing Tetris
- 10,000 Families Study
- Telehelping Families of Children with Behavioral and Mental Health Needs
- The Blue-Ribbon Bladder Study: Understanding Women’s Self Care
- Create a Healthier Future
-
Net Impact
We plan to engage with the crowd to help spread awareness about the threats to our environment’s health. Our goal is mainly to provide perspective and information about the dangers of AI use and also offer some eco friendly ideas that people can do in their own homes to support and healthy planet.
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Park Boss: 60-second Ranger Challenge
Spin, solve, & save the forest! Spin the wheel for your ranger job, tackle a real-world scenario, and see if you have what it takes to protect Minnesota's great outdoors in our 60-second ranger challenge. Learn more about the UMN Department of Forest Resources.
-
Research on a Stick!
- Judge the Jab
- Attitudes About TMS After Video
- Health and Wellness Check with a State Fair Twist
- Care Aware: Changing the Conversation on Substance Use
- VOICE - Views on Informed Consent Exceptions
- Studying Planning by Playing Tetris
- COVID-19 and Politics: What's Your Story?
- Thumbs Up - measure hand writing pen signature grasp!
- Wildlife Health in Minnesota
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Grow Roots with UMN Community Plant Breeding
Get to know the University of Minnesota Community Plant Breeding Team, who works to adapt vegetables to the Minnesota climate, and create a space where everyone can have access to the fresh produce important to them. Learn more about UMN Community Plant Breeding Team.
Friday, September 4
College of Liberal Arts
Join College of Liberal Arts (CLA) to discover how a liberal arts education is shaping the future of the fields you care about most. Meet our campus experts and dive into the surprising intersections of culture, humanity, and technology. From how we tackle AI and the digital world, to the human side of health & medicine, to the fascinating science behind pop culture—CLA is everywhere. Stop by, ask questions, and see how we're connecting the dots!
MnDRIVE Brain Conditions
We would plan to feature different types of conditions that neuromodulation is used for. So we would have a group for Epilepsy, Parkinson's/Movement Disorders, Mental Health, stroke, Etc. This is in the early stages of planning and I won't have a solid plan until I know the date we will be scheduled before I reach out to folks.
Giveaway: MnDRIVE BC swag such as brain stress balls and book marks.
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Research on a Stick!
- Text Us! The State Fair Experience Study
- Experiences After Pregnancy Loss: Identifying Gaps in Follow-Up, Resources, and Support
- What is the Speed of your Heartbeat?
- Make Menopause Sexy
- The Great Minnesota Stack Together!
- Great Minnesota Public Opinion Survey
- Choices in Voices: Listen to Learn!
- 10,000 Families Study
- Swish for Science
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The Water Bar
Dive into the Water Bar! Discover where your drinking water comes from. Sample water from municipal and rural sources, and ground and surface water. Can you taste the difference? Test your taste buds and your knowledge with fun water trivia. Learn more about the UMN Water Resources Science graduate program.
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Research on a Stick!
- Health and Wellness Check with a State Fair Twist
- Make Menopause Sexy
- VOICE - Views on Informed Consent Exceptions
- Great Minnesota Public Opinion Survey
- Improving Preoperative Instruction Comprehension to Enhance Patient Compliance
- 10,000 Families Study
- Spot It Early
- Create a Healthier Future
- Having the AI Talk
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Let's Talk Plants
Look at and touch seed and plant displays, study the parts of a flower, play a "Guess the Crop Wild Relative" game, and ask researchers questions about plant and agricultural science. Learn more about the UMN Applied Plant Sciences graduate program.
Saturday, September 5
Institute on Community Integration
The University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration (ICI) works to build communities where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) can fully participate in school, work, and community life. Through research, training, partnerships, and public education, ICI helps improve policies and practices that promote inclusion, self-determination, employment, education, and community living across the lifespan. Its work matters because it helps create more equitable communities where people with disabilities are valued, included, and able to contribute their talents and strengths.
Giveaway: Magazines (Impact), postcards, policy briefs.
Math Center for Educational Programs
Math based activities in exchange for prizes! We will have Eulerian tracing graphs which patrons can complete in exchange for rubber ducks, pins, and temporary tattoos. Puzzles are intended for children in grades 4 through 6 but are appropriate for anyone to play.
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Research on a Stick!
- From Pamphlets to Videos: Optimizing Patient Education on Kidney Stone Prevention
- Text Us! The State Fair Experience Study
- Health and Wellness Check with a State Fair Twist
- Make Menopause Sexy
- Heads Up: 3D Scans of your Head
- Tell Scientists What You Think (About Microbes)!
- Care Aware: Changing the Conversation on Substance Use
- Beyond Closed Doors
- Dam Opinions – The Human Dimensions of Beaver Conservation in Minnesota
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Explore Aquatic Invasive Species Research
Discover the latest advancements in aquatic invasive species research at the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center (MAISRC). Learn how cutting-edge science and innovative approaches are protecting Minnesota’s lakes and rivers from invasive threats. Learn more about MAISRC.
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Research on a Stick!
- Text Us! The State Fair Experience Study
- Is College Even Worth it Anymore?
- Which is the most hard-working generation?
- Make Menopause Sexy
- Kids' Emotion Study
- Project CONNECT: Help Shape the Future of Teen Mental Health
- VOICE - Views on Informed Consent Exceptions
- "Fair" Game: Generational Factors in Assessing Cognition
- Beyond Closed Doors
- Curious About Cannabis
-
Build a Better Future with BBE | Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
Discover how creative problem-solving can build a better future with the University of Minnesota Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering (BBE). Put your hands and brain to work with fun, interactive activities that explore real-world challenges in sustainability, science, and engineering. Learn more about UMN BBE.
Sunday, September 6
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Research on a Stick!
- Text Us! The State Fair Experience Study
- Attitudes About TMS After Video
- What is the Speed of your Heartbeat?
- Health and Wellness Check with a State Fair Twist
- Make Menopause Sexy
- Kids' Emotion Study
- Great Minnesota Public Opinion Survey
- 10,000 Families Study
-
Let's Talk Plants
Look at and touch seed and plant displays, study the parts of a flower, play a "Guess the Crop Wild Relative" game, and ask researchers questions about plant and agricultural science. Learn more about the UMN Applied Plant Sciences graduate program.
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Research on a Stick!
- Judge the Jab
- CLA on a Stick: A Fair Assessment
- Why Yes, Why No? Understanding Investment Decision-Making
- VOICE - Views on Informed Consent Exceptions
- Tyrannosaurus Flex: Finding the "Fair-ly Normal" Grip
- Great Minnesota Public Opinion Survey
- Behind Closed Doors
- Dam Opinions – The Human Dimensions of Beaver Conservation in Minnesota
- Curious About Cannabis
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Get to Know Farm Animals
Get to know farm animals from students in the University of Minnesota Department of Animal Science. Discover fun facts and learn how amazing animals are part of agriculture and our everyday lives.
Monday, September 7
Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics (MIFA)
Booth exhibiting astronomy demonstrations, which in previous years have been letting fair goers hold and examine meteorites, a spectroscopy demonstration with different elements that are seen in ionized gas tubes, and a gravitational lensing demonstration.
Center for Genome Engineering: Creating Genetically Modified Cells to Cure Cancer
Explore how scientists at the Center for Genome Engineering have harnessed the power of CRISPR to sculpt the very essence of life - DNA! Imagine the possibilities as they use this biological tool to craft modified cells that are more capable of fighting cancer cells. Learn more about how this amazing process works and the success already happening in clinical trials.
-
Research on a Stick!
- Hot Moms: Heat Mapping Motherhood at Work
- Health and Wellness Check with a State Fair Twist
- Heads Up: 3D Scans of your Head
- Tell Scientists What You Think (About Microbes)!
- "Fair" Game: Generational Factors in Assessing Cognition
- Choices in Voices: Listen to Learn!
- Improving Preoperative Instruction Comprehension to Enhance Patient Compliance
- Duck, Duck, Screened Duck: Know Newborn Screening?
- Little Scientist in Action
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Sensational Food Science
Learn how your five senses let you experience food. Learn more about the UMN Department of Food Science and Nutrition.
-
Research on a Stick!
- Who Let the Dogs Out?
- Experiences After Pregnancy Loss: Identifying Gaps in Follow-Up, Resources, and Support
- Health and Wellness Check with a State Fair Twist
- VOICE - Views on Informed Consent Exceptions
- Tyrannosaurus Flex: Finding the "Fair-ly Normal" Grip
- Choices in Voices: Listen to Learn!
- Duck, Duck, Screened Duck: Know Newborn Screening?
-
Mycology Astrology
Find your birth date on our chart to see what fungus matches your astrological sign! Learn more about the University of Minnesota Department of Plant Pathology.