Wood Magic Forest Fair
The SC forestry community’s signature educational event
Now in its 28th 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 44,000 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 44 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.
2026 Wood Magic schedule
- Piedmont Forestry Center, Salem October 6-9, 2026
- Harbison State Forest, Columbia October 26-30, 2026
- Hobcaw Barony Georgetown, November 17-20, 2026
Want to bring your students to the Wood Magic Forest Fair? Please download the 2026 application and submit it to WoodMagic@scfc.gov. Applications are considered on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, please contact Environmental Education Program Manager Matt Schnabel at MSchnabel@scfc.gov or (803) 728-5968.
Wood Magic Forest Fair virtual program
Wood Magic Forest Fair offers a virtual option for schools who can’t attend the program in-person. Students will still be able to watch a sawmill cut a log into boards, explore how paper is made, examine a web of life, and learn about the benefits of fire in an ecosystem… All in the classroom! Teachers will receive an educational packet full of activities and resources to lead lessons around the sustainable management of forest resources and the role of forests and forest products in our daily lives.
WMFF Virtual Program Resources
To learn more about the program, view the 2025 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.
Support the Wood Magic Forest Fair Program
You can help create the next generation of citizens that understand and care for our forests! Please support the SC Wood Magic Forest Fair program. Your monetary contribution will help support youth forestry and environmental education in our state, introduce youth to environmental and natural resource careers, and create an environmentally-literate public. The SC Wood Magic program receives no state-appropriated funding and relies on grants and donations to operate.
Please donate here.
Sponsors
