Merced County UC Cooperative Extension 4-H advisor Richard Mahacek was quoted extensively in a Washington Times story published yesterday about a growing science focus in 4-H. The article precedes National Youth Science Day, set for Wednesday, when 4-H members all over the country will conduct a "National Science Experiment" by combining polymer materials from the inside of baby diapers with water to learn about water conservation.
The Washington Times story included details of Mahacek's work with Merced 4-H youth on robotics. With common household materials -- such as ice-cream-bar sticks, paper cups, paint-stirring sticks and plastic needles -- he helps children better understand various elements of robotics, like pneumatic movement, ratios, gears and motors.
"What we hope happens is, if they do this, they may want to move on and try to learn about advanced robotics," he is quoted.
Mahacek told reporter Andrea Billups that teaching basic book knowledge can leave out important aspects of science, such as investigation and discovery.
"A lot of what we are trying to do is teach 21st-century work-force skills, including communication and problem solving. We know that a lot of kids turn off to science in middle school, so we are focusing right at that age," Mahacek was quoted.
The story also touched on science-related 4-H programs around the nation, including hydroponics gardening on New York rooftops; software, spatial data, cartography and quality-assurance programs in Oregon; and GPS and other mapping systems to identify hurricane evacuation routes in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.