Youth explored the great outdoors in a nature day camp.
Kids learned how local foods go from farm to table, were educated about the importance of pollinators in their habitats and ecosystem, saw how they could grow plants with no soil and made their own cheese from scratch in another class.
Students in grades 3 to 8 launched into the world of space, satellites and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in a unique class.
Those in grades 6 to 12 interested in politics learned about local government, designed their own campaign and voted in a mock election in another class.
Finally, youth participated in hands-on activities to learn how 3D printing is applied in real life.
This summer, Jackson County 4-H piqued kids’ interest in a variety of topics through SPARK Clubs.
The Indiana 4-H program offers the special interest groups designed to capture the attention of youth with single-focus, out-of-the-box interests that are likely different from state-recognized 4-H projects, according to extension.purdue.edu.
These clubs are led by volunteers bringing their subject mastery to the club. SPARK Clubs include six hours of instructional time that can occur in one day or over a length of time. Most clubs end their program with a culminating event or activity.
Purdue Extension Jackson County staff members came up with the clubs to offer locally. They were free for 4-H members and had a one-time $20 fee for non-4-H members.
The staff and summer assistants led each class.
“With different classes and activities, we each had a responsibility for that, and there was curriculum, but then we kind of made it our own, especially just keeping the kids on task and coming up with the side games and that kind of thing to keep them entertained. That was our biggest role in all of it,” said Brooklynn Rennekamp, program assistant for Purdue Extension Jackson County.
Elizabeth Lenart, one of the summer assistants, said she helped with a lot of the behind-the-scenes work, including registration, coming up with activities and laying out the daily schedule.
“The biggest one is engaging with the kids, which is really fun,” she said. “We get Purdue curriculum that we tailor to, but then we each have our activities. … It’s a lot of divide and conquer type of thing.”
A big plus for the kids was the variety of SPARK Clubs offered this summer.
“You heard multiple of them ended up attending more than one, so even if it wasn’t something they were originally or initially interested in, we kind of sparked that interest as they were here and joined the club,” Rennekamp said.
Lenart said the kids benefited from interacting with local people in a variety of fields and areas of expertise and trying various activities.
“Some kids have absolutely no exposure to farm life or agriculture or space things, and so it’s cool that we get them hands-on activities and it’s not lecturing them or just talking to them,” she said. “When they get involved, they take more interest, they are focused more and they are more likely to engage and ask questions, so I think it’s cool for that fact, that it’s a really unique experience that 4-H offers only.”
Sydney Loudermilk, the other summer assistant, said the clubs give kids an in-depth education into something besides just their 4-H projects.
For example, with the space club, STEM fields were a big focus.
“Instead of focusing on just purely the agriculture and the projects part of it, it’s really reaching out into the STEM part of it and really reaching out into how can we expand the education and the positive youth development that 4-H has the potential for for all kids with all kinds of interests of all ages,” she said.
The staff really tried to target some of the older kids and some more unique topics that maybe 4-H hasn’t reached in the past, Loudermilk said.
Now, the kids who took the classes may build a rocket, grow their own food or do beekeeping as a 4-H project.
“(It) is really fantastic that we’re starting to explore those new avenues,” she said. “My favorite part of it this summer is seeing the kids experience that, too, because they get so excited whenever they get to do something like that for the first time.”
Alexander Tidd, 9, a student at St. Ambrose Catholic School in Seymour, attended the nature, space and foods SPARK Clubs.
“We fished, we walked and learned about birds and other animals,” he said of the nature class.
In the space class, he said he liked learning about gravity.
Leonardo Mendez, 10, who attends Seymour-Jackson Elementary School, also went to the nature and space camps.
“I really like nature and being out in the wild and learning about animals and stuff, and the space one, I really like science,” he said.
Both boys said they benefited from the experiences.
“It helps people learn even more about a specific topic,” Tidd said of the SPARK Clubs.
“It gives you more stuff to learn about and a lot of opportunities to do more projects,” Mendez said.
At a glance
For information about Jackson County 4-H, call Heather VonDielingen at 812-358-6101, email [email protected] or stop by the Purdue Extension Jackson County office, 111 S. Main St., Suite 10, Brownstown.