Dodge County Fairgrounds - Beaver Dam, WI

As we look forward to the 2012 Dodge County Fair, and the 125th Anniversary Celebration, it's important to review the value of fairs and benefits to youth exhibitors.  Are the benefits worth the many months of time and energy spent getting ready?           Most people feel county fairs are fun (and they are), but a study done by the Department of Rural Sociology at UW-Madison indicates that fairs do indeed play an educational role.  The study compared the fair to the classroom.  County Board members indicated they thought youth learned a great deal at fairs.  They also said they thought the educational value of five days at the fair was equal to that of five days in the classroom.           The obvious questions still remain:  "What did the exhibitor learn?"  Fair competition provides youth with a chance to develop specific skills such as animal showmanship, ...

The County Fair is an exciting time for 4-H members. It is an opportunity to display to the public the handiwork they have made and show animals they have worked with. The 4-H motto is "learn by doing" and the fair is an excellent example of this. 4-H members work on a variety of projects and share these results with the general public at the fair. Through doing this, 4-H'ers learn about working with others, making decisions, and responsibility. An important aspect of the fair is judging. 4-H projects are judged on their quality of workmanship. Although competition is an important part of the fair, the real courage for 4-H members lies in competing to better their own skills, not to "beat" out somebody else. It's exciting for 4-H members to win ribbons and trophies, but sometimes it's the one who comes in last who really wins. They win by learning important things about their projects and themselves. They learn to be good "sports" and grow ...