I’ve been dreaming about traveling the world since I was younger and hearing stories about how people toured the world with only a backpack full of clothes and $20 in their pocket.

Today, it was free. Sort of.

During first and second block today, AP World History students put on their annual World Fair. Students formed groups and picked a country to research in depth over the course of three months. Students studied their country’s culture, history, and way of life.

Ms. Jennifer Heimlich, Social Studies, is one of the AP World History teachers. “Our class studies the entire history of the world from the beginning to now. The purpose of this project is to go more in depth for a particular place. It also gives them a chance to get hands-on and be creative,” Heimlich said.

While some students picked their countries for their renowned beaches or food, one particular group of students chose to represent their heritage.

Ayann Hodleh, junior, was in the group of Somalian students that chose to study the country of Somalia. “We learned about stuff that our parents would know about but we wouldn’t because we’re the younger generation.”

Immediately when I walked in, I could tell that there were hours of work that went into this event. Intrigued, I actually asked each group how many hours they put into this project. Answers ranged from 10 hours to a shocking 100 hours.

Looking around the fair, it was easy to believe that these students had spent obscene amounts of time on this project.

One mother proudly told me that her son and his friends had built an entire castle in her basement for their project on Spain. Greece had a tray of some incredible looking baklava. Mongolia had a humorous game where students threw darts at Turkish and Russian prisoners.

Most students became experts on their country by the time the project ended. “It was neat to learn so much about North and South Korea and then see other people learn about it as well,” said Emily Arndt, junior.