The "Carnival of Learning" is a model early awareness activity developed by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). The Carnival's main goal is to make students aware of the importance of postsecondary education and the financial aid resources that are available to assist them. Carnival activities include career activity centers, a motivational speaker, and games, all of them related in some way to the importance of education. Examples include using the game "Operation" to provide an opportunity to discuss careers in medicine and the importance of education to attain such careers and giving each student a backpack filled with donated educational resources.

The Massachusetts Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators holds a Carnival of Learning before the MASFAA conference and at the conference site. Information about the MASFAA Carnival of Learning can be found online at www.masfaa.org/committees/early/ea_carnival.php all year. MASFAA teams up with the director of Massachusetts Gear Up programs and the students invited to the carnival are in Gear Up programs. Booths at the carnival are manned by students or faculty from area colleges and demonstrate aspects of careers that require a college degree such as making slime (chemistry), caring for animals (veterinary), composing music (music education) and many more. In addition to other booths the MASFAA carnival features a Picture Yourself in College booth, where kids dress up in cap and gown pose for a Polaroid picture which they can take with them.

"This is definitely my favorite event of the year and I would encourage all states to offer similar programs," says Jill D'Amico co-chair of MASFAA's Early Awareness and Outreach Committee.

While the rewards of a Carnival of Learning can be substantial, such an endeavor takes time and thought to have the desired outcome.

Four Steps to Planning a Carnival

1. Identify the Students. When you begin planning a Carnival of Learning one of your first steps will be to identify the age group you want to reach. As you might suspect, the carnival works best with elementary and middle school children. You'll also need to estimate how many students your budget, volunteers, and donors can serve. If you don't already know the students you want to reach, you can work with local schools, places of worship, and other organizations to identify students who would benefit from the Carnival.

2. Select an Event Planner. The volunteer selected to serve as the event planner (and his or her helpers) should arrange for games and activities with an educational twist. The event planner should be able to transform your location into a carnival atmosphere; the smell of fresh popcorn and cotton candy, with recorded carnival music playing in the background, is a great help.

   One example of a carnival activity is the creation of an "obstacle course," with a sign at the beginning indicating "This Way to a Career." Each obstacle would be labeled with a potential difficulty to overcome on the road to an education (such as not enough money for tuition). Afterwards the students can be shown that there are ways around these obstacles (such as student aid) just as they found ways around the physical obstacles in the course.

3. Provide Early Awareness Reading Material for Children and Parents. Many excellent sources of reading materials are presented in Other Early Awareness Resources . Many of the Web sites permit printing and distribution of materials aimed at young students. Others, such as NASFAA, offer printed copies of publications such as Cash for College at a very low cost.

4. Give Each Student a "Treat" Bag to Take Home. Each bag should contain early awareness materials along with financial aid and scholarship information. Local businesses and charitable organizations can provide the "treats." If possible, find a corporate sponsor willing to provide a backpack and age-appropriate school supplies.