The Great Minnesota Get-Together draws nearly two million people to the state fairgrounds every year. And that diverse collection of individuals provides a nice side benefit — the perfect pool of participants on which to conduct public health research.

Fairgoers can scream in a recording booth, spit in a test tube and march around for three minutes, all in the name of science.

The University of Minnesota has been conducting research at the state fair since 2014. Housed in the Driven to Discover building near the Grandstand, the university, along with peer institutions, survey, interview and test thousands of fairgoers. Half a million people have come through since its introduction 11 years ago.

“Minnesotans are generally very curious people,” said Ellen Demerath, who helped start Driven

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