Wood Magic Forest Fair
The SC forestry community’s signature educational event
Now in its 25th year, the Wood Magic Forest Fair is a free, fun, forestry-fact-filled field trip and festival for fourth-graders. A day program of forestry-related educational experiences and demonstrations, the fair combines hands-on activities with visually engaging presentations to teach children about the importance of forest lands to wildlife, the economy and our daily quality of life.
The fair isn’t just a walk in the woods; it’s a learning experience. South Carolina’s Wood Magic Forest Fair is a comprehensive environmental education program correlated to state curriculum standards in science and language arts. More than 40,000 students from every corner of the state have participated in the program since its inception in 1999, the overwhelming majority of whom demonstrate a significant gain in knowledge about forests after attending. Post-tests reveal an average of 51 percent improvement in students’ understanding of the material presented at the fair.
The key takeaway from Wood Magic is that through sustainable management, we can enjoy the many benefits of a growing forest and can also harvest trees for the thousands of useful products that improve our quality of life.
When and at what locations will Wood Magic be held this year?
Apply to attend the 2023 Wood Magic Forest Fair!
2023 Wood Magic Schedule
• Piedmont Forestry Center, (Tamassee)—October 3-6, 2023
• Harbison State Forest, (Columbia)—October 23-27, 2023
• Hobcaw Barony Discovery Center, (Georgetown)—November 14-17, 2023
How to apply for the 2023 Wood Magic Forest Fair
Complete the above application form before emailing, faxing or mailing to SCFC Environmental Education Coordinator Matt Schnabel at mschnabel@scfc.gov or the address below:
Matt Schnabel
Wood Magic Forest Fair
Harbison State Forest
PO Box 21707
Columbia, SC 29221
The SC Forestry Commission has developed a virtual field trip experience as an alternative to attending the in-person Wood Magic Forest Fair program. Students will be able to watch recordings of all the learning stations and complete student pages to reinforce the demonstrations at each station. Please complete the survey below to get access to these FREE virtual resources. Educators can receive a WMFF teacher goodie bag for completing the survey.
Survey for WMFF Virtual Program Resources
To learn more about the program, view the 2022 SC Wood Magic Annual Report.
What students will learn…
Upon completion of the WMFF program, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate an awareness that our society depends on forests for many products we use every day and that these products improve our quality of life.
- Explain the difference between renewable and non-renewable natural resources and apply the reduce-reuse-recycle principles of conservation.
- Recognize that many different management techniques are required to insure long-term sustainability of our forests.
- Describe the many environmental, social, and economic benefits of our forests.
More Wood Magic resources for teachers and volunteers
Visit the Wood Magic resources for teachers and volunteers pages below for videos of each learning station, lesson plans and previous annual reports.
Sponsors
Wood Magic is jointly sponsored by:
Funds for the 2022 Wood Magic Forest Fair were provided through grants from the following organizations:
