Paige Koehn, a sixth-grader at Park Elementary School, helped her classmates create a public art piece by sticking 2,704 white plastic forks in the courthouse lawn Friday afternoon.  Each fork, she explained, represents 1,000 kids who suffer from hunger each day.
The class has been learning about issues like hunger and displacement, faced by kids in other parts of the world.  The lessons coincided with the arrival of Rotary Club members who met in Great Bend Friday for the start of the three-day district conference taking place this weekend.  
It also coincided with the first Great Bend Art and Wine Walk that took place around the square that afternoon and evening.  
A heavy-duty tent, part of a “green shelter box,” centered the display.  Koehn explained the box contains a tent like the one there, blankets, food, and water that survivors of disasters receive from rescue workers to help them following natural and man-made disasters all over the world.  
The students will be learning more about the Rotary project next week, teacher Eric Dowson said.