Driven to Discover research program to host studies at Beltrami County Fair
Aug. 10—BEMIDJI — While the
Beltrami County Fair,
set for Aug. 10-14, will host its usual fare of grandstand entertainment, carnival thrills and a wide array of deep-fried fair food, it will also house several interactive research opportunities to round out the week's events.
Available through the University of Minnesota Extension office, the
Driven to Discover program,
or D2D, will offer four days of surveys and other research with the goal of engaging fair-goers in the scientific process.
"Research can sound like some foreign, exotic thing that's only done with test tubes and a laboratory and people with white coats on," D2D co-director Ellen Demerath said. "We think this whole thing will humanize research a little bit for people to 'see behind the curtain' of what research is all about and try to understand the world better to make it a better place."
Started in 2014 along with co-director Logan Spector, D2D found immediate success at the Minnesota State Fair as not only an educational opportunity but also for public engagement.
"We sort of thought of it as our 'special recipe' where we bring together 2 million fairgoers and a huge research university, mix them together gently for 12 days, and what you get is a big research opportunity," Demerath added.
She estimates that over 100,000 fair-goers have consented, enrolled and participated in D2D's state fair research, averaging between 10,000 and 15,000 every year.
"This one little idea has grown so much more than Logan ever thought," Demerath said. "It's just gotten to become this unbelievable thing and we really think it's because Minnesotans are curious and interested and they love their fairs."
This summer marks D2D's first attendance at county fairs throughout Minnesota. Along with Beltrami County, the program will have a presence at Stevens, Rock, Faribault and Fillmore County Fairs.
"We've estimated over the years that 25% of our participants (at the state fair) are from outside the metro area," Demerath detailed. "What we want is to bump that up, and the best way to do that is actually to move the show to more rural fairs. That's what we're piloting this year."
Along with rural engagement, Demerath is looking forward to a calmer environment that she sees a county fair providing along with lower expectations of "compensation" — prizes including drawstring bags or other merchandise — for completing a study, something she described as being expected at the state fair.
"Ideally, people should be joining the study because they're interested and genuinely want to be involved in a research study," Demerath said. "With the hectic pace of the state fair, while it's cool and fun and the investigators collect lots of data, we don't want people motivated by the wrong stuff. So, I think (conducting research) at a county fair could be just as good or better than at a state fair."
Housed in the Robo Shack, or building 13 on the fairgrounds, D2D will host a rotation of 12 separate studies from noon to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 11, through Saturday, Aug. 13, and from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14. Four to five studies will be conducted simultaneously each day.
"Every day, there will be a different cast of characters so you can come back as often as you wish," Demerath said. "There will be things for everybody young and old."
Demerath highlighted one study, titled "Got Snot?" that will focus on how microbes that live in a child's respiratory tract can affect their risk for ear infections, colds, types of pneumonia and other respiratory diseases.
Another study, "Want to Connect?" will require participants to fill out a survey about their social well-being with results being used to improve social connectedness in rural areas.
And yes, some studies will have prizes.
Demerath hopes for a continued presence at the Beltrami County Fair for years to come, citing the support from the Beltrami County Fair Board.
"Fairs have always had an educational component to them and this is an extension of that," Demerath said. "The fairs we're going to are the ones that the fair administrators were really into this idea. The Beltrami County administrators were amazing. They were so great to work with and we want to be back in places that give great support."
More information on D2D can be found on the
University of Minnesota Extension website.
Grandstand events throughout the fair will include free musical entertainment from Poppa Bear Norton from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
On Thursday, a Motocross Hot Laps race will take place at 6 p.m. followed by a feature race at 7 p.m.
Wojo's Rodeo shows will be featured
at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and Baja Races will bring up the rear at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College will kick off the fair festivities on Wednesday and will be open from noon until 6 p.m. in Heritage Square for educational fun.
The rest of the week will feature a slew of demonstrations such as Tae Kwon Do, Headwaters Science Center appearances, a balloon artist, a woodcarvers club, horticulture exhibits and a mural artist.
Beltrami County 4-H will return with its many traditional events and activities, including a pet show, horse show games, a llama and alpaca show and a dog agility show.
Local authors are also making appearances on Saturday and Sunday to show fair-goers what they've been writing.
More information can be found at
