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                                                                          NYS 4-H Youth Development

                                                                                                                                                       
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Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational research
BCTR formed a partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension when it located its youth component, 4-H Youth Development, within BCTR. Together CCE and BCTR are demonstrating commitment to grounding 4-H in contemporary societal challenges and embracing the opportunity to apply the emerging discipline of translational research to a large, diverse, and vibrant community based program that can be found in all corners of New York State.


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4-H is the Youth Development component of Cornell Cooperative Extension's Land Grant Mission.

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August 7, 2015
From the NYS 4-H Office

Attention NYS 4-H Educators

4-H Volunteer Opportunity at the 2015 Dairy Cow Birthing Center at the NYS Fair!

 

   

 

The NY Animal Ag Coalition (NYAAC), in cooperation with the Cornell Vet School, is seeking volu nteers for the 3rd Annual Dairy Cow Birth ing Center, which has become one of the top attractions at the New York State Fair. We'd like to offer you the opportunity for 4-H youth who are at least 16  years old and have experience with dairy cows to work at the exhibit this year as volunteers and gain real life lessons in working wit  h the public and alongside some of the top dairy producers in the state.  For every shift filled by a 4-H youth participant NYAAC will contribute $100 to that local County 4-H program!

 

The goal of the Dairy Cow Birthing Center is to enhance the awareness and understanding of dairy farms. Last year, we attracted over 213,000 fairgoers and welcomed 36 calves into the world over 12 days. However, the real attraction is our volunteers who come to share their passion, their life stories and the care they have for dairy cows.  So please consider volunteering and being part of this incredible educational exhibit that is helping bridge the gap between farmer and consumer - and is a lot of fun doing so!  If you would like to make this available to your 4-H youth please email Jessica Ziehm and ask her to send you the volunteer registration form.  Sign up soon as the shifts are filling quickly.

To see what shifts are available click on this link and search for "Student Club/Org" and the directions are included.

Jessica Ziehm 

Executive Director

New York Animal Agriculture Coalition
Jump on the Blue Ribbon Express and get ready for State Fair!

 

 

County Fairs are in full swing and State Fair is right around the corner. The State Fair planning team has been working hard to make this year's activities amazing! Please read the Information for Staff and Key Volunteers here and also read the Blue Ribbon Express newsletters. These will  help your county prepare for an excellent Fair!


Career Explorations - More Feedback, Please!

 

We have started to get some very useful feedback from Career Explorations. Please keep sending in your surveys and encourage your 4-Hers to, too - we want to hear how the program went for you.  

 

Career Explorations Event Survey 

 Career Explorations Planning Team Survey 


(see full graphic on the Career Explorations website



NYS 4-H State STEM Specialist
  
Calendar of Events

August 14: Educational Program Assistant Application is due

August 27 - September 7
: The New York State Fair!
 
September 15:
NISE Network's Mentoring and Community Partnerships Application
is available

September 30: NISE Informational webinar 2pm Eastern

November 13:
NISE Network's Mentoring and Community Partnerships Application is due 
Civic Engagement
NYS 4-H State Civic Engagement Specialist

Educational Program Assistant Opportunity Available   

 

We are currently recruiting college-aged young people to work with us this Fall. If you know of a college student or recent grad that would be interested in working with young people in an education focused environment in the living classroom that is in DC, we would love to talk more about a possible internship.

   

Application Deadline: August 14th, 2015

 

Dates of Employment: September 14th, 2015 - November 14th, 2015 (Reasonably flexible start and end dates)

 

Terms of Employment: $300.00 per week, Room & Board, Meals at our on-campus café

 

Quick Job Description: Work closely with the Educational Programs Team to design and deliver our Summit Series, become a licensed tour-guide, facilitate workshops & Wonders of Washington programs, work hands-on with young people between middle-school & high-school aged youth.

 

Anyone interested in this position or has any questions is welcome to contact Zach Hall directly via phone (301.961.2964) or email.


   

 Jamila Simon 

NYS 4-H State Civic Engagement Specialist

STEM News from Our Partners

4-H Robotics


The 2015 4-H Fiber Science Robotics Challenge is coming to the Fair! The theme for the 2015 4-H Robotics Challenge events, to be held on the third day of each time period, is a Fiber Sciences Robotics Challenge. Can your robot walk the runway, hang up a coat hanger and make some rope? All rules, the Challenge release video, and weekly updates for this year's challenge are posted online

 


There is a link to the team registration form on the Robotics page as well. Register your team/s in advance to be assured of a space, and you will get your 3-D coat hanger and felted sheep for practice. We hope to have many 4-H groups participate, no matter what the experience level. This is a fun introductory experience for new groups (we have had groups join in at State Fair and successfully participate after attending the workshop the evening before each Challenge event) or a fun challenge for more experienced groups.

You can direct questions to Roger Ort, State Robotics Specialist.


NYS 4-H Robotics Program Specialist

Welcome to New 4-H Staff

Meet 4-H Community Educator Kate Ewer!   

    
Kate grew up in Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania but was active in the Chautauqua County 4-H program for ten years, as a member of the Busti Shamrocks and the Goat Program. She received her Associates of Science in Individual Studies from Jamestown Community College in 2015, and in May graduated with her B.S. in Agriculture Business Management from the State University of New York at Cobleskill. Kate has assumed responsibility for the varied and diverse 4-H programming in Chautauqua County, and is quickly learning the ins and outs of the programs in order to continue improving youth development in the area. 

 

 

  

  

  

  

Meet 4-H Community Educator Betsy Rodman!


 

 Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rockland warmly welcomes their new youth development educator. Betsy Rodman has over 20 years of experience as an educator, trainer, supervisor, program developer, volunteer manager and administrator in the areas of K-12 education, environmental areas, volunteerism and community needs such as hunger and literacy. She has worked in a variety of contexts including public and private K-12 schools, non-profits, the Rockland County Youth Bureau and a refugee camp in Phanat Nikhom, Thailand. She is passionate about empowering youth and families with dignity, particularly through the tools of education and literacy.

 

Meet the New York State CCE Administrative Staff
Meet Adam Davis!
 
Adam Davis has been with the State 4-H Office for 10 years, his title is Extension Support Specialist. You'll find Adam at State 4-H events usually trying to keep electronics working, taking care of registrations, and visiting with county staff who use online enrollment. Adam is studying for a Master of Public Administration at Cornell and has an anticipated Spring 2016 graduation date.

In his free time Adam enjoys playing his guitar, powerlifting and spending time in and on the water. Adam and his wife Shawn are the parents of two 4-H'ers, if you see Adam at the State Fair you'll often see Bethany (11) alongside him assisting with tasks she enjoys. Eli (14) enjoyed his 1st trip to Career Explorations (and slept all the way home!)


STEM - Science Technology Engineering & Math
Alexa Maille
NYS 4-H State STEM Specialist
NYS 4-H and the Maker Movement

Calling all tinkers and do-it-yourselfers! We now have permission from CCE Administration and PW Wood for New York State to officially join the Maker Movement!

 

What is making, you say? Well, it's making things - clothing, food, art, robots, the list goes on. For us 4-Hers, making may not be that new. The Maker Movement is an opportunity to take what we've learned through more than 100 years of Extension to engage a new audience.

 

A point of clarification here - we are all set to be 4-H makers and do making (using those kinds of labels, if you like), but hosting an official "Maker Faire" is a different ball of wax. A Maker Faire is a trademarked, licensed event run through Maker Media, Inc. If you are interested in holding a Maker Faire, you will still need to work through PW Wood and appropriate channels to get that approved. Let me know if you have questions or want to talk more about this!

 

Citizen Science Summer Fun

 

Summer is a great time to play outside and one of my favorite ways to play is by watching birds. I love that I can both enjoy the beauty of birds and contribute to science and understanding our environment by reporting my sightings to eBird! Several counties are working with Cornell's Lab of Ornithology Pathways to Nature through Science project this year. How is that going?

 

Or how about those of you connecting youth to the outdoors through the National 4-H Council and Disney Conservation Fund project? Thank you for involving everyone at Career Explorations in a pollinator citizen science project!

 

I hope we've sparked an interest for you and your youth to do more citizen science projects! Check out this new one I just learned about last week: the Forest Fungi Project, created by the

University of Wisconsin-Madison. In this project, you go to a forested area and collect tree roots, soils, and take pictures of your tree species. Youth will investigate trees and forested systems and scientists can learn more about how fungi can change due to climate change and hopefully better predict how forests will respond to warming climates.

 

Nano - Small Steps for Big Change!

 

Why nano? These small sciences and technologies make big changes that improve our lives!

 

You and your county may have experienced some of the nano work from Cornell at Career Explorations in Cornell's NanoScale Facility. UU program Explorations in Nanotechnology, or Dr. Alabi's Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Lab  Focus Program Nanoparticles in my What?, among others.

 

You can continue to connect your 4-Hers to nano at State Fair. Students from Dr. Alabi's lab will also be joining us at this year on Saturday, September 5. Stop by and investigate how you might bring projects like these to your county. Or if you prefer a fiber science bent, check out Dr. Hinestroza's booth on Friday, September 4.

 

Another way you could bring nano home is to connect with universities and museums through the NISE Network. NISE Network's activities give you the whole package - activity guides and training videos, marketing materials, and connections to real-world applications. Materials are often in both Spanish and English. They tie together resources from across the country, including work from Cornell. Like this one around oobleck - a favorite State Fair county booth activity. Or this one, Exploring Products - Computer Hard Drives which explores one of the most common applications of nanotechnology - computers! They are designed for museum settings, but are easily adapted for other informal settings, too.

 

NISE Network has a special initiative for the upcoming year: Museum & Community Partnerships. This is an opportunity for 4-H to develop relationships with new community partners and to reach underserved audiences. These Partnerships will receive a free Outreach Kit which will include hands-on activities and professional development and collaboration materials. Project dates:

  • Application available: after September 15, 2015
  • Informational webinar: Wednesday, September 30, 2015, 2pm Eastern
  • Application due: Friday, November 13th, 2015
  • Kits delivered: early Spring 2016
  • Implement program: Spring-Summer 2016

This could be a great complement to National Youth Science Day activities - highlight STEM all year long!

 

NYS 4-H State STEM Specialist 
Do you have a New 4-H Staff Member on you team?!    
Would you like to introduce him/her to the rest of the 4-H community? Feel free to contact Deborah Mann  to provide background information on any new 4-H Staff.
 
 CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION 
4-H is a community of young people across America
who are learning leadership, citizenship and life skills. 

The NYS 4-H Team 
Andy, Alexa, Nigel, Jamila, Ruth, Adam and Deb
The NYS 4-H Student Team
Ciara
 
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