4-H Delivers

Ventura County 4-H National Youth Science Day Event 2010

The Issue

Ventura County, like most areas of the Country, has noticed a decline in student interest in science.  California State University Channel Islands (CI), one of local Universities has a large Science department that is actively working with the community to fill that void by encouraging students to pursue the field.  In order to make this happen, our Somis 4-H club felt that connecting our local K through 8th grade school with CI could spark interest in the endless opportunities available in the Science field as a career and as recreational hobbies.

What did 4-H do?

By working with a faculty member and staff at CI, partnering with the science teacher at Somis School, 4-H was able to organize the National Youth Science Experiment with approximately 30 youth 4-H’ers and students at Somis School.  The students completed the Carbon Dioxide experiments in the guide as our instructor Dr. Phil Hampton lead the way with his humorous science related stories. At the end of the experiments, we could see that everyone was excited by what they had learned and Dr. Hampton invited us all to Science Festival at the end of the month where local Science enthusiasts would be blowing up pumpkins and students would participate in all kinds of fun, educational activities.

The Payoff

To keep the momentum alive, youth from Somis School will come out to the University for a tour and participate in some type of science/technology scenario before the next National Youth Science Day.  The best part of the event was the connection the teacher at Somis School made with the science faculty member at CI.  Dr. Hampton has agreed to assist him with growing the science program at his school and with other resources.  Our kids are still talking about the experiment, what they learned and their impact on water quality.  We hope to partner with Somis School next year for the NYSD and to assist with a science fair. 

Author: Diana Enos, 4-H Volunteer Leader