The sounds of excitement could be heard across Marshall County during the second round of After-School 4-H Club meetings. Over 100 elementary After-School 4-H Club members participated in the 2015 4-H National Youth Science Day experiment – Motion Commotion.
During this year’s experiment, young people explored the first two of Newton’s Laws of Motion. In the first part of the experiment, youth learned how an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. To do this, they created clay figures, put the figures in toy cars on a ramp, release the cars and wait for the car to collide with a predetermined object. This allowed them to see the impact crashes have on the passengers in a vehicle.
The second part of the experiment explored participants’ reaction times. In teams, one person would try to catch a ruler dropped by their teammate and they switched giving everyone a chance to catch. They repeated the experiment, only this time the person grabbing the ruler needed to punch buttons on a calculator or phone while they tried to catch the ruler. The youth gained awareness as to how distractions can effect reaction times especially during driving, walking, etc.
The 4-H National Youth Science Day is the largest world youth-led science experiment. Since 2008, youth have completed 4-H NYSD experiments and 4-H science projects in robotics, agriculture science, rocketry, wind power, environmental science and alternative energy. To learn more about 4-H NYSD visit www.4-horg/nysd.
If you are interested in joining Marshall County 4-H, After-School Clubs meet in all the Marshall County Elementary and Middle Schools once a month from 3:00pm-4:30pm. A different program is planned each month with lots of hands on activities such as science, communications, health, and much more. The elementary clubs include 4th and 5th grade students. Middle school clubs are open to 6th – 8th grade students and they focus on leadership skills, teambuilding and civic engagement activities. The Benton Middle and South Middle Club have combined and are meeting at the Marshall County Extension Office with bus transportation being provided to the office. Carol Thompson, 4-H Program Assistant, serves as the primary 4-H Club Leader for these clubs. Several of the Marshall County 4-H Teen Club members serve as club helpers. Enrollment forms are available in your child’s school office or from the Marshall County Extension Office.
Marshall County 4-H also has a variety of project clubs including Trailblazers (Horse), Cook’s Nook, Sew What?, Technology Club, Helping Hands (Homeschool) and Sharp Shooters (shooting sports).
Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. To learn more about 4-H Youth Development programs, contact the Marshall County Extension Office at 527-3285.
