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photo by Bob Pennell Cameron Pierson, a sixth-grader at Oak Grove School in Medford, peers into a giant kaleidoscope Saturday during the AAUW Children's Faire at Walker School in Ashland. The annual event drew nearly 100 kids for fun with science and crafts. It's all for kids -- that's fair Annual AAUW Children's Faire mixes craft and science activities By CLEVE TWITCHELL ASHLAND -- "It's an acrobat swing," said Kyle Gauke, 5, of Medford, admiring the geometric shape he'd just created from marshmallows and toothpicks. Across the room, Annalise Van Aken, 4, of Ashland, put a piece of paper and some paints inside an old salad spinner, spun it for 30 seconds and created a miniature work of art. For Cameron Pierson and Clayton Lowell, both 12-year-olds from Medford, the sound/light tunnel was awesome, especially the part about sculpting light with your hand. Along with close to 100 other Rogue Valley youngsters, they took in the Children's Faire at Walker Elementary School in Ashland Saturday morning. The Ashland branch of the American Association of University Women puts together this annual free event featuring hands-on crafts activities, science exhibits and other fun things. About 40 adult volunteers help out, from the Ashland YMCA, Schneider Museum of Art and other groups as well as AAUW, also the Ashland High School Key Club and some pre-school teachers. There was one no-show this year, an exhibit of snakes expected from Southern Oregon University. "The snakes had other commitments," said Jan Waitt, president of Ashland AAUW. But there were plenty of other things to see and do. At one table, youngsters had a chance to try drawing a self-portrait, with the help of mirrors. At another, they decorated graham crackers with edible colors, and then, of course, ate them. "The rule is one loop in the mouth and one on the string," said adult volunteer Sue Kruse, supervising a table where kids created necklaces by stringing together Fruit Loops and penne pasta. Nearby, multi-colored pasta and beans became decorations on various objects. Pine cones coated with peanut butter and then rolled in bird seed became bird feeders. The kids who worked with mini, multi-colored marshmallows and toothpicks made everything from a simple square to a ball the size of a grapefruit -- and that acrobat swing. Other tables had names like macaroni collages, goop/slime play and sponge painting. While younger children related to the crafts -- making interesting objects out of ordinary household items -- older kids seemed to really enjoy the science exhibits, part of Da Vinci's Playhouse. Gary Hensarling of Talent supervises this collection of exhibits, a mini science fair that visits schools and other groups on request. It became part of the AAUW Children's Faire last year and was a popular attraction again this year. The aforementioned hand/light sculpture exhibit was a favorite. You stuck your hand in front of a beam of light projected on a screen and suddenly you saw lots of hand images, in varying patterns. Another, the giant kaleidoscope, was created with, in Hensarling's words, "three $10 Wal-Mart mirrors." Stick your head inside and the images seem to go on forever. And there was Pharaoh's Face, whose eyes seemed to follow you as you walked by. Near it, a spinning black-and-white disc produced the illusion of color, even though there wasn't any. At Magic Illusion, a coin appeared to float even though it really didn't. Some activities offered an opportunity to crawl inside, like the giant air tent. A single fan created enough air to keep the 40-foot plastic tent inflated. Inside were various geometric creations that would change shape when touched. Another smaller tent offered lights that would change color at the sound of one's voice. Outdoors, there was a chance to blow soap bubbles and jump on a trampoline. The Children's Faire dates back 23 years, said Lee Seater of the AAUW, who co-chaired it with Joy Dutson for many of those years. This year, Seater was enjoying just being one of the volunteers. Fun was the order of the day. But as Lowell said, "Yeah, we learned a lot, too." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA