Campus News Society & Culture

Georgia 4-H hosts National Science Day Oct. 5 at state capitol

Athens, Ga. – Secretary of State Brian Kemp and University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby will join Georgia 4-H’ers Oct. 5 at 10:15 a.m. at Georgia State Capitol to participate in the fourth annual 4-H National Youth Science Day.

Georgia 4-H is a part of the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. The organization’s membership includes 170,000 youth, ages 9-19. Through UGA’s expertise, 4-H promotes community involvement, student leadership, self-esteem, public speaking, communications and planning skills, improved school performance, motivation to help others, and overall student improvement in civic identity and engagement.

This year’s National Youth Science Day experiment shows students how to design and construct a wind turbine and determine which design captures the most energy.

“The 4-H National Youth Science Day experiment allows Georgia students to examine concepts related to energy and explore wind as one possible source of renewable energy in the U.S.,” said Arch Smith, state 4-H leader and director.

The U.S. is not preparing enough well trained members of the workforce in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, Smith said. In response, Georgia 4-H is working to engage a million new scientists in STEM programming by 2013 to prepare the next generation of scientists, engineers and technology leaders and contribute to global competitiveness.

“Throughout its 100-plus-year history in Georgia, 4-H not only provides youth opportunities to learn about important concepts in science,” Smith said. “It also enables our youngest citizens to learn essential life skills for the workforce, such as teamwork, communication, problem solving and critical thinking.”

For information about the National Youth Science Day experiment, see the National 4-H Council website at www.4-h.org/NYSD. For more information on Georgia 4-H, see www.georgia4h.org.