4-H Delivers

2011 National Youth Science Day Experiment to the North Coast!

What started out as a plan to get our local 4-H clubs enthused to share the National Youth Science Day experiment grew into club, school and community venues reaching over 3,500 youth with the message that 4-H Science Rocks!

This year’s experiment was designed to engage youth around the country in asking the question: “Why is water quality important and why is it important to understand it now?” Today we face a growing concern that our sources of clean water are becoming contaminated by warming temperatures, carbon dioxide emissions and dangerous run off.  Water quality not only affects our drinking water but the natural habitats of aquatic plants, animals and organisms.

In Humboldt County, the Hydesville 4-H Club and the Cutten 4-H Club conducted the science experiment at a community club meeting reaching all in attendance.  While 40 youth directly conducted the experiment by providing the source of carbon dioxide, another 100 observed the color change to the water. The color change piqued the interest of everyone involved and they all participated in the questions provided by the experiment guide.

The enthusiasm of the club experiments inspired leaders to share in the public school classrooms as well.  One leader, Alisha, shared the experiment in her older son’s third grade class and again in her younger son’s 1^st grade class.  Both of her sons were able to enjoy the experiment by seeing the results and then talking about what happened and why it is important.  The boys became more environmentally aware when they talked about the environmental impacts of carbon dioxide and conserving energy.  Alisha also leads a Science 4-H project group where 11 more youth members conducted the experiment and interacted in a discussion about what they saw and possible implications actions have on the environment.

The experiment was shared in school and community event settings as well.  At the Medieval Festival in Blue Lake, over 200 youth participated in conducting the experiment while another 2,000 watched the wonders of color change while the experiment took place.  The McKinleyville Middle School Resource Fair had 300 students who accessed the information and participated in the experiment.  It kept the booth operators, a father and son team of Jed and David, very busy keeping up with all of the groups that participated in the experiment. At Eureka High School’s Agency Fair, the 4-H Program Rep Sandy Sathrum, reached over 1,200 high school youth from around the county.

Regardless of the location or the age of the youth, all were engaged in seeing the human contribution of carbon dioxide and learning about the effects that this greenhouse gas has to life on our planet.