The Fredonia Elementary gym was filled with displays of countries all across the world for students to learn about all different cultures. But it was one particular piece of the school’s annual Culture Fair that stood out — a model airplane.

Elementary classes filed into the gym, one by one, throughout the day on Thursday to visit the Culture Fair. Students were given replica passports and boarding passes, then made their way through security to enter the gym.

As the students entered the gym, they found themselves immersed in a replica of an airplane, with Fredonia teacher Bonnie Burnett dressed the part as a pilot, with a video playing behind her simulating a cockpit. High school students in Greg Haase’s technology class created the walls of the plane, and students of Brandy Noody’s art class decorated the windows.

“I think it’s awesome,” Burnett said. “The excitement level from all the kids was really exciting.”

Students in Stephanie Goot’s second grade class proudly display their passports at the Fredonia Culture Fair.

After taking a trip on “Fredonia Airlines”, the students exited the plane and passed through Passport Control, where an officer in a booth stamped their passport to send them through the gate and into the fair.

“It’s been awesome. It’s really fun,” Burnett said at the event.

The students then toured the gym to see displays of more than 30 different countries, including Australia, Spain, Germany, Japan, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, and the United States, among many others. Many of the displays also featured culturally specific foods for students to enjoy. Students in Lindsey Moon’s high school social studies class created the displays and helped at the Culture Fair throughout the day.

“We really tried to incorporate more students within the Culture Fair this year,” Burnett said, while thanking the students, teachers and staff for their help with the event. The district has held an event to represent the different cultures of the world for many years, but this was the fourth year of a Culture Fair in its current format.

Some of the displays represented the countries that Fredonia students and staff originated from, including the Japanese display by Fredonia sophomore Mihiro Sahara, a foreign exchange student from Japan. She was dressed in traditional Japanese wafuku.

Second grade students in Kathy Price’s class enjoyed their time on Fredonia Airlines, led by their pilot, Bonnie Burnett.

“Fredonia has so many cultures in our little school community, and I think that’s really cool. For students to recognize their friend is from a country or their friend’s family is from a country, that’s really important to recognize and accept,” Burnett said.

Students and staff from Fredonia placed a pin on a map hanging on the wall outside the gym to mark where they are from to show how diverse the school is. Burnett hopes that the Culture Fair helps students realize how many different cultures are represented at Fredonia, and that they appreciate the different cultures they are exposed to, whether it be through traveling themselves someday, or just by learning about them through events like this.

“I think it’s really important to learn about the world. … There are really awesome places to visit out there, and I hope they all get that opportunity someday,” Burnett said.