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Flip the Fair toolkit

A young boy uses all his strength to hold up a large land tool that resembles a shovel. Four kids watch smiling. A folding table with a handmade poster stands behind them. Two adults in green shirts (one in a baseball cap) are with them, watching with big smiles. Everyone is almost laughing.
2025 Flip the Fair student judges from Roanoke City Public Schools visit Caroline Wolcott's interactive poster presentation with Virginia Tech volunteer chaperone Iris Jenkins. Photo by Erin Smith for Virginia Tech.

Hello!

If you’re reading this document, you’re likely interested in organizing a Flip the Fair. We want to share our experience at Virginia Tech with this hands-on, outreach-oriented science communication event. First held in 2022 through a collaboration between Virginia Tech graduate students, VT’s Center for Communicating Science and other sponsors, and Roanoke, VA, public libraries, the VT Flip the Fair has grown from 150 attendees to 450 in 2025.  

This guide is designed to walk you through how the event has been run in the past and to support you as you bring your own version to life. You may find the need to adapt, revise, and expand as your local context evolves. Each year, we’ve gathered feedback to help improve the event, and we hope you’ll continue that practice to make your Flip the Fair even better for future organizers.

Thank you for keeping this event alive and growing!

With appreciation,
Flip the Fair Organizers

Click the links below to read about our process.