It starts out cold and uses plastic silverware: What are they judging?

Sure, there are the corn dogs and the big slide.

But to hear some tell it, the best part about the Minnesota State Fair is the competition.

Draft horses, Bonsai trees, even machine-knitted socks — they're all in the running for blue ribbons.

Every day this week, All Things Considered is zeroing in on one of the fair's seemingly countless contests.

Here's a hint, from one of the competition's judges.

Can you guess the competition?

https://soundcloud.com/mprnews/what-are-they-judging-i-think-you-need-to-be-very-creative-when-it-comes-to-this?in=mprnews/sets/what-are-they-judging-day-four

In this one, there's a awful lot of room for creativity.

What's the key to taking the top spot in this competition?

Here's what one of its judges had to say:

https://soundcloud.com/mprnews/what-are-they-judging-i-guess-you-just-need-a-good-idea?in=mprnews/sets/what-are-they-judging-day-four

These competitors had a lot of ideas:

https://soundcloud.com/mprnews/what-are-they-judging-i-thought-of-winter?in=mprnews/sets/what-are-they-judging-day-four

https://soundcloud.com/mprnews/what-are-they-judging-two-apples?in=mprnews/sets/what-are-they-judging-day-four

https://soundcloud.com/mprnews/what-are-they-judging-soccer-ball?in=mprnews/sets/what-are-they-judging-day-four

As you can probably tell by the voices, the entrants in this particular competition are kids. They ranged from 6 to 11 years old.

But technically, people of any age can participate in this contest.

Here's a hint about the tools these competitors are using to create their masterpieces:

https://soundcloud.com/mprnews/what-are-they-judging-plastic-silverware?in=mprnews/sets/what-are-they-judging-day-four

And, of course, a hint about the medium they're working with could be useful.

Does it help?

https://soundcloud.com/mprnews/what-are-they-judging-its-a-little-cold-when-it-starts-out?in=mprnews/sets/what-are-they-judging-day-four

You can probably assume it's not blown glass.

Did you figure it out?

Click the gallery below to see if you were right.

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