In brief, an AKC dog show is sponsored by the American Kennel Club, a registry for purebred dogs. Each breed of dog has its own breed standard, or description of the ideal - what that breed should look like, how it should move, what it was bred for [i.e hunting, guarding, herding], what its temperament should be. A dog show is a place where AKC registered dogs are exhibited before judges who determine how closely your dog comes to the standard for its breed. Historically the purpose of showing your dog was to determine if it was a worthy animal to breed - if it could make a decent contribution to its breed.
Dog show competition is divided by breed, and within each breed by age and, generally speaking, by experience. A class will consist of the dogs being walked into the show ring to join others of its breed, where the judge will ask that the handlers "stack" their dogs, or pose them in a four-square stance so the judge can observe general structure. The dogs are then gaited, or trotted around the ring so that the judge can view their movement from the side, front and rear. The winner of each class will later compete against the other class winners in its breed for Best of Breed. Points are won by the class winners and, after winning 15 points under at least 3 different judges, a dog will have earned its championship title from the AKC.
A dog show is a great place to view quite a large variety of AKC dog breeds. The Yuma Kennel Club annual dog shows have anywhere from 1000 to 1500 dogs being shown each day. In larger cities, that number could be 3500 dogs per day. This is a good way to compare that cute little puppy you are thinking of bringing home, to the adult of its breed - size, shape, energy level, coat length.
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