Kids Fair gives pen pals chance to meet

After months of exchanging letters and photos, not-so-long-lost pen-pals were united Friday during the first ever Kids Fair at Bennie Oosterbaan Fieldhouse.

Inside the cavernous Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, more than 900 elementary school students who are part of the K-grams pen pal program spent the balmy afternoon with students from the University who have been exchanging letters with them since September.

The K-gram program, in its first year, has a promising future and is sure to return next year, said founder Rishi Moudgil, an LSA junior.

"We've had a really successful first year," he said. "There's no reason why we shouldn't keep doing it."

K-grams pairs up students who live in University residence halls with students from seven elementary schools in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. The Kids Fair was held as a way to bring together the two groups for something they could both enjoy, Moudgil said.

Many of the elementary students met their pen pals in person for the first time on Friday, finally being able to put a face behind the monthly letters.

Both age groups took advantage of the time to do activities like painting, trying out musical instruments and going head-to-head against some Michigan athletes, along with missing a few hours of class.

Chuck Hatt, a fifth-grade teacher at Pattengill Elementary School, said the pen pal program and the Kids Fair help close the gap between the two groups of students. "It's really neat to see them interacting with these older kids," he said. "I think it's a lot of fun for the kids."

Although the Kids Fair was planned with mainly the elementary schoolers in mind, Engineering sophomore Pat Hunt said it was difficult to tell which age group was having a better time.

"You can see everybody's having a good time," Hunt said. "It's really well organized."

Spread around the fieldhouse were tables manned by students from 80 campus groups. Business junior Amanda Squiers of the Bachelor of Business Administration Transfer Club said the elementary students were able to gain perspective on campus life.

"It materializes the whole college thing for them," Squiers said.

LSA sophomore Georgi Weinstock said the fair gave University students an opportunity to escape from day-to-day life of lectures, labs and exams.

"I think it's good for us college students to get out and be kids again," Weinstock said.

Hatt said the pen pal program is both educational and enjoyable for the younger students, which made it an easy choice to have his class join the program.

"When you're teaching writing, you're always looking for something real to write," he said. "When you have that opportunity, you jump on it."

Mike Gluck, one of Hatt's students, said he's glad his class is a part of the program.

"I like writing pen pal letters," he said. "It gives me something to do."

eating contest on Friday at the Kids Fair.

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