Purpose

Flip the Fair is built around three core goals:

1. Graduate student professional development

Flip the Fair offers graduate student presenters an opportunity to hone their science communication skills by engaging a non-specialist and often overlooked audience: 5th grade students. Participation is typically paired with training workshops on effective, inclusive science communication, helping presenters build confidence and clarity in how they share their work.

A group of about 30 diverse people stand together in 3 rows, posing and smiling in front of a tall wall with covered in colorful 3-dimensional block art. All but two are wearing bright green t-shirts that say "Flip the Fair." — 2025 Flip the Fair presenters and volunteers pose for a photo at the end of a successful event. Courtesy of Amber Lowery.

2. Community outreach & student empowerment

Flip the Fair specifically seeks to engage elementary school students who may have limited access to enrichment opportunities in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM). The event creates a fun, interactive, and affirming space that sparks curiosity and invites students to see themselves as scientists. Hosting the event in a local library branch also helps introduce students to resources they may not yet be familiar with.

3. A model for science fair success

In many school districts, students complete their first science fair project in 5th grade. Flip the Fair gives them a model to build from, letting them see what a strong project and poster can look like while giving them the unique opportunity to be the judges for a day.

An adult in a green shirt helps two children look at specimen under a microscope. — Virginia Tech graduate researcher Rowan Scott helps 5th grade visitors look at insects under a microscope. Photo by Erin Smith for Virginia Tech.

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