All juniors and seniors boarded buses early Tuesday morning as they headed off to the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science’s first Traveling Science Carnival in Tupelo, Mississippi.

The Traveling Science Carnival was sponsored by Toyota and the BancorpSouth Center. As Tupelo’s 4th grade students unloaded their buses to meet their presenters and guides, greeters put students in order by letter and brought them to their guides.

Tyra Lockett says her greeter experience was hectic, but rewarding. “When we first got there, I did not realize how many students would come. It was pretty hectic getting them off the bus, putting their name tags on, and taking them to their guides. But, overall, it was an enriching experience to see the kids so excited to learn,” Lockett explained.

As the guides led them through the carnival, presenters demonstrated simple science projects and math problems to help ignite the kids’ excitement to learn. Guide Arin Kelly said that watching the kids was humbling. “They were so excited to be there and I had a really good time guiding them through the Science Carnival. It was cool getting to see younger kids so engaged in science and math activities,” Kelly said.

Kiera Monroe agreed with Kelly’s assessment. “It was fun seeing the little kids get excited about science. It taught me how to explain things to younger children in different ways. It was also fun spending time with my peers and seeing the MSMS family come together for such a successful event,” Monroe stated.