UMaine Extension Marks Month of 4-H Youth Science Activities

University of Maine Cooperative Extension will celebrate the fifth annual 4-H National Youth Science Days (NYSD) in October and November with a series of events designed to spark youth interest in science and future science careers.

As part of 4-H NYSD, youngsters will participate in the 4-H Eco-Bot Challenge, a 2012 National Science Experiment in which youngsters explore how robots function and could be used to help clean up hazardous materials spills. The goal of the program is to demonstrate that by utilizing engineering principles, youth can have a positive impact on communities and ecosystems.

There will be events at seven locations in Maine, where young people will enhance their engineering skills by assembling their own Eco-Bots and surface controls to manage a simulated environmental cleanup. They will then test the interaction between the Eco-Bot’s design features and various surface-control configurations to determine the most effective cleanup solution for the simulated spill.

The program is open to youth ages 5 to 18 (children ages 5 to 10 must be accompanied by an adult to participate). No prior robotics experience is required and registration is free and includes materials for the experiment.

For more information on 4-H NYSD, which begins Oct. 2 and ends Nov. 6 in Maine, visit www.4-H.org/NYS, or to register for a local 4-H youth science day activity in Bath, Perry, Windham, Poland, Searsport, Windsor or Topsham, visit the UMaine Extension 4-H youth science day website.

Educators and volunteers from across the state are invited to participate and share the science experience with youth in their community

Contact: Sarah Sparks, (207) 353-5550 or sarah.sparks@maine.edu