PINE BUSH – From the big red bounce house outside, to the frenzied crayon-coloring-circle inside, past the sno-cone dispensary, and Dan Mullany playing tasteful folk guitar, this year's Diversity Fair was a pretty astonishing event.

Looking at a mass of orange T-shirted kids from the Boys & Girls Club summer camp who were taking it all in with the cheerful non-selectiveness of youth, Superintendent Phil Steinberg said, "I'm just about speechless. Our students have exceeded my wildest expectations. They've done an incredible job here."

And that was visibly true, as visitors young and old, grabbed a blue sno-cone to ward off the heat and looked at the booths set up to promote awareness of many of the issues around hurtful forms of discrimination, whether it be of gender, race, sexual orientation or age.

Along with the exhibits prepared by the students in the Literacy and Education Academy, for whom the Diversity Fair is the climax, there were exhibits from the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts, and Anjali Bhatia of Discover Worlds, the outreach organization that she began as a 16 year old in Kinnelon, New Jersey.

In many ways, Bhatia exemplifies the concept of Diversity. Of Indian parentage, but raised in New Jersey, she rebelled against the TV-absorbed conformity of high school and set out to do more than just complain about her peers' lack of interest in the world beyond the small, square screen.

Discover Worlds now has 62 Chapters, and Anjali Bhatia spreads her message of involvement and tolerance in schools across the US, India, and now in Rwanda, too.

"I was a Girl Scout," said Bhatia, now 22. "I just started presenting, talking about these issues and going to other schools to do it. Things just snowballed from there. I found that once kids saw what I was able to show them, they were really interested and wanted to join and to get involved."

Outside — between the bounce house and Lucky, the rescued race horse — Joan Carbone, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction was taking it all in with a happy smile.

"The Literacy and Education Academy is right on the cutting edge here, in terms of inspiring future educators and informing them of the diverse needs of future students in a globalized society. The students did a fabulous job."

Inside, at the Pine Bush Schools Food Services booth, Lynn Prestia, Food Services Director, was talking with Roseanne Sullivan, President of the School Board.

Sullivan gestured towards the room full of kids in orange and yellow T-shirts. "This is just amazing. I think some of these kids are learning a lot here today."

Melissa Hopmeyer, one half of the duo that runs the Literacy and Education Academy, came whirling by, and remarked on how the Diversity Fair, in its second iteration, was changing and growing. "We've added exhibitors, like the Scouts, and fun things like the bouncehouse, but the message is still there, and it's strong."

Bethany Ganley, the other half of the duo, noted that including a horse, the Fair's internal diversity had increased even more. The horse, a 19 year old former race horse named Lucky, was holding court with an eager audience of children, happy to feed him treats. Lynda Broas, from Equine Rescue of Walden, said that both the kids and the horse were having a great time.

All in all, the second Diversity Fair was a breathless event for both the organizers and the kids attending, who between sno-cones and bouncing, were exposed to a powerful message about the diverse world they are growing up in..