With the goal of sparking an early youth interest and leadership in science, hundreds of thousands of kids throughout the country took on renewable energy technologies during 4-H National Youth Science Day.
Entering its fourth year, the 2011 National Science Experiment, Wired for Wind designed by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, gave youth the opportunity to enhance their engineering skills by designing, building and testing two different wind turbine models.
"Our nation is falling behind other countries in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math," said Donald T. Floyd, Jr. president and CEO of National 4-H Council.
"Participation in 4-H NYSD and other year-round 4-H science programming offers youth and adults the opportunity to engage in scientific exploration and work together to build the next generation of our nation's scientists, engineers and mathematicians."
With the help of a team of volunteers, engineers and scientists committed to innovative energy education, more than 600 NYSD events occurred throughout the nation, and globally in South Korea and Germany. Youth used their wind-energy kits, to build vertical-and- horizontal- axis wind turbines, and then test them to determine which design is more effective in harnessing wind.
This year's 4-H National Science Experiment also offered youth the opportunity to connect the experiment to their communities. By calculating wind power and using wind data and maps, the experiment gave youth the chance to determine the best location for a wind farm in their state or local area.
"We created this year's experiment to help young people understand the important link between energy, the environment and their community," said F. John Hay, Associate Extension Educator in Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension.
As part of the Cooperative Extension System of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and implemented by the nation's 111 land-grant colleges and universities, 4-H has been educating youth in the sciences for more than 100 years.
Generous sponsor support has been provided by Toyota, Motorola, BAE Systems, Fleischmann's Yeast, Wal-Mart, the KidWind Project and the National Science Teachers Association. For more information on 4-H National Youth Science Day, please visit http://www.4-h.org/nysd. Or, to find a 4-H youth development program near you, go to http://www.4-H.org.
-- The Sacramento Bee