MISSOURI STATE ARCHIVES
Ticket to the Past:
The First 25 Years of the Missouri State Fair

Exhibit "Scavenger Hunt" Worksheet

Directions: These questions will act as your “Tour guide” and help you analyze the
information included in the exhibit. You will be asked for specific information
contained in the exhibit, and to form your own conclusions about the effect the
Fair had in Missouri.

  1. The exhibit points to several specific problems Missouri was facing at the
    turn of the 20th century (the beginning of the 1900s). Name one problem
    that Missouri was facing at that time. Why do YOU think state leaders
    proposed the Fair as a way to solve that problem?

  2. Who introduced the bill that created the Missouri State Fair?

  3. When was the Missouri State Fair created by the state legislature?

  4. Where is the Missouri State Fair held? What other cities competed to be the
    fair site?

  5. Who were the architects that designed the fairgrounds?

  6. Who were Orville and Wilbur Wright, and what was their relation to the Fair?

  7. Name one attraction (group or type of performance) available at the
    Missouri State Fair in the 1920s.

  8. Name two types of competitions that took place at the Missouri State Fair.

  9. What “technological milestone” was introduced at the Fair as early as 1913?
    What do YOU think was the appeal of this new type of competition?

  10. Name one special feature of the 25th Anniversary State Fair.

  11. How many people attended the 25th State Fair? Why is that number
    important?

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